New York Democrats Want Socialism
Last summer, Zohran Mamdani, a New York City assemblyman, appeared on Subway Takes, a popular, quick-paced interview show, to make a pitch. He informed the interviewer, Kareem Rahma, and soon millions of viewers, that “Eric Adams is making the city unaffordable.” He cited increases to the cost of rent-stabilized apartments and utility bills, both of which rest at the feet of the mayor. Recorded before Adams, or his colleagues, faced federal indictment or Donald Trump's second presidential victory, Mamdani had already honed a concise message around the city’s years-long affordability crisis.
Less than a year later, Mamdani produced one of the biggest political upsets this century, toppling former New York governor Andrew Cuomo by thirteen points in the Democratic mayoral primary. NYC-DSA, who endorsed Zohran last October, is now primed to further a local and national ideological battle with and within the Democratic Party.
The coalition Zohran’s campaign envisioned in its early days already challenged the Democratic electorate’s status quo: young, progressive voters, rent-stabilized tenants, and the oft-overlooked Muslim and South Asian communities. These voting blocs looked quite different from any successful mayoral candidate this century. Eric Adams and Bill de Blasio were held down by older Black voters in central Brooklyn/southeast Queens, and Michael Bloomberg united Manhattan’s richest neighborhoods with Republican strongholds of northeast Queens and southern Staten Island.
Mamdani’s coalition stretched from Astoria down to Bay Ridge, but also picked up many South Asian communities in central/eastern Queens, along with many younger non-white voters across the outer boroughs. This represents a shift in New York’s political core away from older homeowners towards young renters and adults still living with their parents, yearning for their political voice to be heard. This realignment of the NYC Democratic base towards voters interested in working-class economic concerns can be seen in the organized groups, outside of NYC-DSA that backed the campaign.
“Even in coalition, the field campaign that recruited tens of thousands of volunteers represented a supercharged version of previous NYC-DSA campaigns.”
The United Auto Workers, which has aggressively organized in universities and non-profits over the last decade in New York City and nationwide, was the first union to rank Zohran number one. The other major union to give early legitimacy to the campaign was District Council 37, the city’s largest public sector union, who were reportedly surprised by an activist push for Zohran within their ranks. Then there were organizations like Jewish Voices for Peace Action (JVPA), Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), and CAAAV Voice, who helped provide initial support but hinted at a larger coalition being built. Those fruits were born out in the final weeks of the election, when Brad Lander, the city’s highest ranking Jewish official, endorsed his Muslim political rival, despite their differences, a sign that New York City is a place where people of all faiths and no faith can, and must, stand side by side for working people.
Even in coalition, the field campaign that recruited tens of thousands of volunteers represented a supercharged version of previous NYC-DSA campaigns. Many field leads were cadre members of the organization, but others were newly activated volunteers, and the citywide nature of the race also allowed young people in places often entirely overlooked by most electoral campaigns to find a home in Zohran’s campaign. That’s why in the final days of the primary, canvasses happened in Inwood, the Upper East Side, Ozone Park, East Flatbush, and neighborhoods where NYC-DSA hadn't deeply organized before. Suddenly, the socialist demands at the core of NYC-DSA’s electoral races since 2017 were now amplified across the city, not just in certain City Council or Assembly districts. That robust operation, along with Zohran’s amazing social media presence, helped boost him as the central opposition against capital’s favored son, Andrew Cuomo.
“The hesitancy of Democratic Party leaders to embrace Zohran only furthers the skepticism of power and the status quo within the Democratic Party’s base.”
The corporate wing of the Democratic Party, which we must defeat in a larger fight against the right in our country, put up a perfect foil for Zohran. That Andrew Cuomo took millions from Donald Trump backers became a consistent attack by Mamdani; it highlighted a contradiction within liberals in the city, both obsessed with defeating Trump but also wholly incapable of producing their own tribune. The further decaying of New York City liberalism could be found in the New York Times loudly staying out of the race, only to all but endorse Cuomo in the final days, while flatly stating not to rank Zohran. The failure of the city’s elites and liberal institutions to get behind a candidate created a much larger lane for the left to command. The so-called “Alphabet Left,” a term coined by the writer Ross Barkan, exemplified by the Working Families Party, was reportedly torn between backing Lander or Mamdani first. They eventually got behind the young assemblyman, but after months of work already put in by NYC-DSA to establish Zohran as the only candidate capable of defeating Cuomo.
The surge of turnout by voters under 35 is a chance to hold our socialist vision strong while institutions, both fully hollowed out and some only semi-hollow, flock to Zohran. The coalition he brought together was what one writer described as a “broad middle,” because Zohran won people who make $50,000 to $150,000, while Cuomo won the poorest and wealthiest voters. There are potentially thousands of union members, whose unions are now backing Zohran, and community organizers outside of the traditional world of NYC-DSA that we must reach. The general election provides an opportunity to continue campaigning and painting the political horizon for this moment. The hesitancy of Democratic Party leaders to embrace Zohran only furthers the skepticism of power and the status quo within the Democratic Party’s base. Yet faced with the undeniable success of the campaign, even party leadership's skittishness only goes so far, as Manhattan congressmen Jerry Nadler and Adriano Espaillat both got behind Zohran. If the city’s non-ideological liberals didn’t buy into the months of fear-mongering against Mamdani as a candidate, it is hard to see them changing their minds now that he is the party’s nominee.
“The Democratic Party’s base wants direction, and Zohran’s victory is only accelerating them towards the left.”
Over the last year, The Agitator has published numerous pieces arguing for recommitting to the strategy of Bernie’s 2016 campaign to remain within the struggle on the Democratic party ballot line, which is a tactic of democratic socialists dating back to the 60s in fighting within the Democratic party. That felt more relevant during the Biden era, when parts of DSA felt like running away from the Democratic Party was the best option to pledge a new way forward. Yet, the primary victory of Mamdani puts us back in the same place of fighting it out against liberals and everyone to their right. The victory forced national media to suddenly grapple again with the idea of socialism within the Democratic Party, as it’s historically unpopular and in turmoil. Unlike post-2016, the Democratic base reviles Trump and is furious at their feckless leaders for not acting in more opposition; and there’s no post-COVID unity, or domestic agenda, to keep the coalition together. The Democratic Party’s base wants direction, and Zohran’s victory is only accelerating them towards the left. We shouldn’t shy away from both the ideological and coalitional fight to produce a party ready to fight for the working class interests.