Zohran Mamdani won by shaking up NYC politics

When Zohran Mamdani launched his mayoral campaign a year ago, he was a relatively unknown state assemblyman polling at under 1%, but on Tuesday, the 34-year-old democratic socialist coasted to victory with over 50% support in the highest-turnout race for mayor in decades.How did he do it?Affordability was one avenue. Mamdani offered a series of proposals aimed at making notoriously expensive New York City more affordable for people who live there, promising free busing, city-run grocery stores, rent freezes, universal childcare — to be paid for by higher taxes on the wealthy. As one political science expert suggested, it helped that people seemed to believe he could deliver.Drew Engelhardt, an assistant professor of political science at Stony Brook University, tracked the mayoral race and said he thinks voters were willing to gamble on Mamdani because they feel he’s a “credible messenger” for their concerns.”Even if his desired policy agenda faces high hurdles, folks would be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s potentially seen as best at understanding the concerns about people like them,” said Engelhardt.Mamdani’s promises on affordable housing did resonate with voters — CBS News exit polls found an overwhelming majority of voters said that housing costs are a big problem.A neighborhood-by-neighborhood analysis of Tuesday night’s results indicated Mamdani won middle-income voters and renters — while higher-income homeowners broke for his opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.Similar to Trump: finding and turning out new votersPresident Trump is already routinely disparaging Mamdani as a “communist” and has threatened to cut off funding to New York City over his election. But some political analysts say the 34-year-old’s outsider appeal bears some resemblance to President Trump’s own improbable 2016 election bid. Both men proved they were able to engage people who otherwise would not have been excited about the election, and were able to find new voters in places other candidates could not.Take social media, for instance: Mamdani’s TikTok account has 1.7 million followers, dwarfing the accounts of Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa, who has 200,000 and Cuomo, who has 15,000.The mayoral race turned out over 2 million New Yorkers this year, the highest turnout the city has seen in a mayoral race since 1993. Part of this growth came from new voters: Large numbers of voters were young — and many new voters were casting ballots in their first mayoral election.Data from the New York City Board of Elections indicates that of the approximately 735,000 voters who checked in early, 41% were under age 45 — a much higher share than in recent mayoral races.Mamdani carried 70% of voters under age 45, and 66% of those voting for mayor for the first time, according to CBS News exit polling.Democratic Party fatigueEnglehardt also suggested that Mamdani’s rise coincides with instability inside the Democratic Party.A recent Pew Research poll showed three-quarters of Americans are frustrated by the Democratic Party. Among New York City voters who view major parties unfavorably, two-thirds voted for Mamdani. Mamdani “tapped into that sense of frustration,” Engelhardt said, pointing out that the mayor-elect often painted his opponents as tired politicians offering more of the same old-school politics. Mamdani derided Cuomo and Sliwa in an October debate for “clinging to the past because that’s all they know.”Cuomo sought to counter this by attacking Mamdani’s thin resume and lack of experience, telling him at the same debate, “You have never had a job; you’ve never accomplished anything,” said Cuomo. “There’s no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for 8.5 million lives.”That argument fell flat, possibly because voters were tired of what establishment Democrats have had to offer. Democratic Mayor Eric Adams dropped his reelection bid amid ethics scandals that included federal bribery charges, which the Justice Department later dropped as Adams agreed to help the Trump administration with immigration enforcement. Engelhardt says voters appreciated that Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, did not have longstanding ties to the party.”He was not with the establishment, and he did not have old standing, so he was part of change,” said Engelhardt.

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