| Mamdani’s campaign clearly echoed that of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), who shocked the Democratic establishment seven years ago by ousting a longtime Democratic member of Congress in a primary. Like Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani is a young politician, a person of color who voices unapologetically liberal views. Democratic voters appear to have chosen him over former New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo — a White candidate with endorsements from the establishment wing of the party. (Cuomo conceded the primary Tuesday night after the first round of balloting results were tallied, though the official winner will be announced next week after all ballots are counted in New York’s ranked-choice voting system.  |  | | | As a democratic socialist, Mamdani talked a lot about redistributing wealth. And he didn’t shy away from far-left social and foreign policy positions, either. New York City has the world’s largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and Mamdani criticized Israel’s actions and advocated for the rights of Palestinian people in Gaza, earning him criticism from some Jewish leaders. “A party where we fight for working people with no apology,” Mamdani said of his vision for the Democratic Party during his victory speech. “A life of dignity should not be reserved for a fortunate few. It should be one that city government guarantees for each and every New Yorker.” As the expected Democratic nominee, Mamdani will be favored to win November’s general election. He could become the city’s first Muslim mayor and one of its youngest. And that is likely to amplify the left’s belief that pushing liberal policies is a winning strategy nationwide. Is it all about the economy? Mamdani’s campaign boiled down to taxing wealthy individuals and businesses to make living in New York more affordable for its residents by providing things like free buses and city-run grocery stores. Cuomo and other candidates didn’t promise nearly as many free or reduced-cost services, instead talking about how their experience could make the city safer. And none campaigned as hard as Mamdani on transferring wealth. “Oligarchy is on the ballot,” Mamdani’s campaign said in an email to supporters in the race’s final days. “Andrew Cuomo is the candidate of a billionaire class that is suffocating our democracy and forcing the working class out of our city.” Liberal Democrats have long argued that elevating new voices would bring discussions of policies and values that could resonate with lesser-educated, blue-collar voters who have shifted toward Republican candidates in presidential elections. But I’ve also talked to Democratic candidates who have won in places like Nebraska who say they avoided discussing social issues such as transgender rights to win a general election, even if it meant less support in a Democratic primary. “I beat a 12-year incumbent who was the longest Republican serving mayor in the United States for a major city by almost 14 points,” John Ewing Jr. told me last week, shortly after he was sworn in as the first Democratic mayor of Omaha in more than a decade. “And most of it was because when my opponent tried to change the subject from economics to talk about girls’ and boys’ bathrooms and sports, I pulled [the discussion] back into affordability and never let those issues go.” Younger candidates are done waiting Mamdani is a millennial who, until this campaign, was little known outside New York political circles. But he took on a well-funded giant in New York politics in Cuomo (though Cuomo has a controversial past). “Millennial and Gen Z candidates are so over the idea that the establishment has any power,” said Amanda Litman, who heads Run for Something, a group that supports young, liberal candidates in local races across the country, in an interview before Tuesday’s election. “Democrats cannot focus on their own staying power,” said Chris Ahuja, who is running for Congress in California and trying to unseat Rep. Brad Sherman, a longtime Democratic congressman. “They need to be willing to change and bring in new blood that can make a difference in their communities.” Social media savvy is a must Democrats know that to win control of Congress next year — and the presidency two years after that — they need to win back younger voters and voters of color who drifted toward Trump in this most recent election, whose campaign notably wielded right-wing podcasters and other influencers to reach young men. Mamdani appears to have done that in New York. He made a campy TikTok skit with a millennial comedian, memes about his hand gestures, partnered with a savvy, Gen Z publicist and had Ella Emhoff — the stepdaughter of former vice president Kamala Harris — campaigning for him. It was seen as a risk to focus on winning over young voters, who are often seen as fickle or less likely to vote in elections. “Can cool kids get this mayoral candidate elected?” the New York Times asked. “I thought I needed more experience,” New York state Sen. Jessica Ramos said during the campaign, explaining her regret over not running for mayor several years ago, “but turns out you just need to make good videos.” A’shanti Gholar, the president of Emerge, a group that works to elect Democratic women, said before Tuesday’s election that not all Democratic candidates need to fire up TikTok accounts — but the party and its candidates must embrace reaching voters in untraditional ways. “What we need is multiple leaders talking about different issues to reach different audiences where they are,” Gholar said, highlighting Rep. Al Green’s (D-Texas) protest of President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress earlier this year, where he was escorted out as he stamped his cane on the ground and refused to sit down. “You have to have a Congressman Green with his cane. … You have to have what [Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Ocasio-Cortez] are doing, out on their tour across the country. You need people who are effectively using social media.” | 
