Mamdani Wins With the Many Over the Money

What Zohran Mamdani’s Win Means for the Democratic Party—and the Country

Mamdani’s win is a victory of the many over the money. And America need more of it—everywhere.

Let’s not sugarcoat it. This week, the Democratic machine threw everything they had—billionaire endorsements, NYT op-eds, a deluge of corporate cash, and the full weight of washed-up politicians like Andrew Cuomo, Bill Clinton, and Michael Bloomberg—at Zohran Mamdani. And he still won. Big. The party now has a choice to make, and that choice will determine whether it ever has a chance of truly returning to its roots as a party for working people—or whether it completes its transformation into Republican-lite. How do we ensure they make the right decision, and how do we ensure leaders like Zohran Mamdani become the new face of the party going forward?

Let’s Address This.

Zohran Mamdani. Credit: New York Magazine

History In The Making

What we saw last night was nothing short of historic. A 33-year-old immigrant Muslim socialist from Uganda named Zohran Mamdani uprooted one of the most powerful political dynasties in American history. This wasn’t just a political upset. This was a generational rebuke. A reckoning with a Democratic Party leadership that has spent the last decade cozying up to hedge fund managers while scolding progressives for daring to demand housing, healthcare, and dignity. Mamdani didn’t just win despite the machine—he won because he rejected it. He ran on taxing millionaires 2% more and raising corporate taxes, to pay for a rent freeze, free childcare, and a fare-free bus system. And working-class New Yorkers—Black, brown, and white, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian, everyone—turned out in force to say: yes, we want that future.

Establishment Dems & Corporate Media United—to Fail Together

Meanwhile, the same Democratic figures who claim Trump is unfit for office because he is a serial sexual abuser, couldn’t bring themselves to oppose Andrew Cuomo—a man accused of serial sexual abuse from at least 11 different women. As the detailed 168-page-report by New York Attorney General Leticia James documented:

Cuomo “reached under her blouse and fondled her breast, grabbed her buttocks, engaged in ‘intimate hugs,’ and asked at work whether she had ever cheated on her husband.”

That’s not opinion—that’s sworn testimony. And its one of many, many horrifying examples of serial abuse. And yet, Ritchie Torres, Kirsten Gillibrand, Michael Bloomberg, and yes—Bill Clinton—all stood by Cuomo. They endorsed him anyway. They knew. And they sent him their time, money, and support anyway. Is it any wonder why the Democratic Party’s approval rating remains at an abysmal 26%?

It’s because too many people see what the party refuses to admit: that you cannot be the party of #MeToo, racial justice, and working-class power while propping up men like Cuomo, backing police budgets over school budgets, and kneecapping every progressive candidate who dares to run without Wall Street permission slips.

And likewise, we cannot overlook the sinister role corporate media played in the anti-Mamdani mania.

The New York Times, for example, tried to erase Mamdani entirely. They endorsed former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson—who currently sits at a whopping .8%. Not 8%, but .8%. The Times picked a real winner. And not content with merely endorsing a multi-millionaire who definitely knows what its like for struggling New Yorkers in 2025, the New York Times then explicitly told voters to not rank Mamdani. And in response New Yorkers instead gave the proverbial middle finger to the Times editorial board, and overwhelmingly ranked Mamdani #1 on their ballots.

Hey! I’m votin here! Is probably what every New Yorker said, I imagine.

But seriously, that resounding rebuke should terrify every consultant and editorial board still clinging to the belief that they have the trust of the people. That rebuke is a reminder that trust in corporate media is dead. And it is dead because corporate media killed it themselves by repeatedly failing to fulfill their promise of holding the powerful accountable.

Mamdani Shows How Authenticity Is The Best Defense

Every attack on Mamdani failed for one main reason—Mamdani ignored the Establishment Democratic strategy to “move to the center,” (which keeps shifting right by the way) and instead continued to unapologetically lean into his values of fighting for economic justice. New Yorkers responded by trusting his authenticity and sincerity—even as the attacks increased, even as each attack was progressively worse than the last.

“He’s untrustworthy because he changes his accents.”

Yes, this was an actual attack on Zohran Mamdani. Tell me you’re white and monolingual without telling me you’re white and monolingual. Apparently, those making this attack have never heard of code switching and why Black and brown people regularly engage in such as a humanizing (and survival) method.

“He’s a socialist who wants to take your money.”

New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly for a proposed 2% tax increase on people making $1M or more and a corporate tax rate that matches New Jersey’s rate, in exchange for free bus transport, free childcare, and rent freezes.

“He’s antisemitic because he won’t visit Israel first as NYC Mayor.”

New Yorkers saw the absurdity of this purity test for a mayor of New York City—which definitely is in the United States last time I checked—and valued his actual answer to serve as a Mayor for all New Yorkers in the five boroughs, period. They saw his alliance with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is proudly Jewish and proudly endorsed Mamdani. They saw Mamdani’s efforts to humanize Jews, Muslims, and people of all backgrounds, as who he sincerely is. They saw his plan to increase funding by 800% to combat antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes as a meaningful path to peace and reconciliation.

“He’s a scary Muslim and by the way did you know he’s brown too?”

Cuomo’s Super PAC literally darkened Mamdani’s eyes and grew his beard in their attack ads on him, warning that if you let the scary brown Muslim get elected then…apparently you’ll all have to grow beards too? I wasn’t sure what the conclusion of that attack ad was—I just know it was dumb, racist, and fortunately didn’t work.

Side by side posted by Zohran Mamdani’s campaign comparing Mamdani’s actual photo to the one modified by Cuomo’s campaign in their attack ad.

Some ads were even more grotesque, like from the New York Times endorsed candidate Whitney Tilson, alleging that Mamdani would engage (somehow) in violence against Jewish people. As a result, Mamdani and his family received death threats, something as predictable as it was inexcusable. Meanwhile, no apologies or retractions from the New York Times on endorsing someone who engaged in such grotesque and dangerous bigotry against a fellow candidate. It’s no wonder New Yorkers reject the Times.

The establishment threw everything they had at Mamdani — lies, fear, hate, money, influence, and threats. And it all failed because Mamdani has the courage, compassion, coordination, and conviction to lean into who he is unapologetically—a working class immigrant who just wants to ensure his fellow New Yorkers can put food on the table and have a roof over their heads. And New Yorkers responded to his authenticity, proving decisively that the many can win over the money. This is what makes America truly great.

But the question of the hour is this: will Establishment Democrats understand this and get behind Mamdani, or will they continue to run in opposition to him?

Establishment Democrats Have A Choice to Make

So here we are. Zohran Mamdani is the Democratic nominee for New York City Mayor. Eric Adams has flipped to run as an Independent, clinging to power and Trump-aligned allies like a man with no convictions left—except, of course, the ones the previous DOJ pursued that mysteriously disappeared after a curious backroom deal. Mamdani’s campaign showed what happens when you lead with principle and policy—not fear and fundraising.

And so Establishment Democrats must choose. Will you stand with Mamdani and the will of the people, or will you double down as the Republican lite party? How they choose decides the future of this country.

In the coming months, we will see increasing attacks on Mamdani from the center and from the right. Billionaires will pour millions to ensure Mamdani doesn’t win. The elite and corporations will oppose him. Mamdani will face racist attacks, Islamophobic attacks, anti-immigrant attacks, and they will threaten his family. Will the Democratic Party give him the platform and resources to stave off these attacks and win in November, or will they be silent and/or complicit? I don’t have the answer to that right now. It is a shame that we cannot know for sure whether Establishment Dems will show up for Mamdani, or against.

But one thing is for sure. Mamdani’s win is proof positive that running an authentic campaign ferociously focused on the needs of working people is a winning strategy, and it only works if words match actions—which they do for Mamdani. His decisive win is also a warning shot to every establishment Democrat still asking why voters stayed home in 2024? You want turnout? Back the candidates who actually bring people out—candidates who fight for housing, wages, childcare, public transit, and dignity. Early turnout was nearly double in this election over the past NYC primary, and nearly a quarter of voters were new, first time voters. And they turned out for Mamdani.

Meanwhile, the base the Democratic Party claims to champion—Black people, Latinos, Asians, all working-class people, immigrants, and the youth—have made it clear: it’s not that we don’t care about democracy, it’s just that many are not willing to continue to show up for an Establishment Party that doesn’t show up for us. (Though for the record, Black women did show up 92% in the 2024 election and that leadership cannot ever be ignored).

Establishment Democrats have a choice, and if they care about our Republic, then they need to choose who their base wants—leaders like Mamdani who put people and principles over politics and propaganda.

Closing Thoughts

Mamdani’s win is not the end. It is the opening salvo of a new Democratic movement—if the party wants it to be. A renewed party that reflects the moral clarity and economic justice our moment demands. One that truly fights for working people in word and in deed, not just in theory. The Democratic Party can learn from this historic win as a blueprint to revive our Republic and deliver a meaningful blow to the destructive ideology of Trumpism. Or, they can continue to write very strongly worded letters that end up in a shredder faster than you can say Mississippi Masala.

Frank Sinatra famously implored about New York—”If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.” By no accident, Zohran Mamdani—a working class south Asian immigrant from Uganda, a socialist, and an American Muslim—is the intersection of just about every core base of the Democratic Party. He is the future of this party, and he’s proving it by making it in New York. Let’s hope the Democratic Party understands this winning strategy, and applies it nationwide. The future of our Republic depends on it.