Zohran Mamdani Defeated a Corrupt, Weak Democratic Party Establishment

Zohran Mamdani entered the story Tuesday evening in the primary of the New York Democrat Town Hall by beating not only Andrew Cuomo, but the whole political and media establishment which had merged around the former governor. Mandami won by beating expectations, beating polls, beating big money, beating the approvals of legendary political leaders and venerable institutions. This is a victory over an elite that has been viscerally hostile to Mandami’s energy and economy. Axios Rightly calls that “a victory for the earthquake”. Certainly, Mamdani is not yet mayor. The general elections are in the fall, and he will have to repel not only a republican rival, but also the current mayor scandal, Eric Adams, who will present himself as an independent cuomo, and perhaps Cuomo again, which has not excluded an independent race. However, Tuesday, he can reasonably be considered the favorite.

The magnitude of his victory can be evaluated by the enormous obstacles he had to overcome. In the final results, Mamdani beat Cuomo in the first round by 8.1 points, 43.5% to 36.4%. This will increase almost surely as the classified voting system is implemented, and Mamdani picks up the votes of other candidates. But in all the polls, except one, before the elections, Cuomo had led in the first round. According to The New York TimesThe recent results of the first round survey were Yougov (Cuomo +10), Harrisx (Cuomo +19), Emerson (Cuomo +3), Manhattan Institute (Cuomo +3), Center for Strategic Politics (Cuomo +8), Marist College (Cuomo +12). Even the only survey that won Mamdani underestimated it: survey of public policies (Mamdani +5).

The polls reflected the consensus according to which Cuomo was a great favorite and Mamdani the oppressed. For a large part of the elections, it was a reasonable hypothesis.

Cuomo had obvious weaknesses as a candidate: he resigned from his post as governor in 2021 after credible charges of sexual harassment. His governor had been struck by scandal, including his mismanagement of nursing homes during the cocovio pandemic. But these scandals, although real, did not seem politically fatal. After all, Donald Trump was rekindled by even more serious and more serious sexual harassment scandals. He also managed Covid badly, and he managed to win the presidency in 2024. If the public loves a politician, he is ready to forgive almost all misdeeds.

Cuomo conducted in the polls thanks to his huge name name. Aside from his governor’s mandate, his family has been active in New York policy for decades, with his late father Mario Cuomo as governor from 1983 to 1994.

Cuomo called on his vast political network to provide an impressive list of recommendations, including former president Bill Clinton, former mayor Michael Bloomberg and the South Caroline representative Jim Clyburn (a famous Kings manufacturer who contributed to the guarantee of Joe Biden of the Democratic Democratic appointment of 2020). The unions, which tend to want to play safely by approving the probable winners, have joined the Cuomo team, including two important unions which had once called it to resign from its governor (local 32BJ of the International Union of Service and the Council of Hotters and Games).

Cuomo’s biggest advantage was in money. The billionaires, fearing the promises of Mamdani to tax the rich, to make the buses for free and to freeze the rent, have given themselves the mission of guaranteeing the appointment in Cuomo. According to The New York TimesThe Pro-Cuomo Super Pac Fix The city has raised $ 25 million (including more than $ 8 million from Michael Bloomberg), making it “a financial juggernaut on the right track to spend three times more than Mr. Cuomo’s real campaign.” Combined with the $ 8 million he was legally authorized to spend, the pro-Cuomo campaign spent $ 33 million. Pro-Mamdani Super Pacs had less money to work (around $ 1.7 million in addition to 8 million dollars in campaign donations).

Coupled with money was media support. It was difficult not to notice an anti-sailor inclination New York Post) but also in traditional publications. The New York Times continued to harass the lack of experience of Mamdani and The Atlantic Mamdani suggested was a threat to the security of Jews.

But if all the advantages of Cuomo led to an in-depth electoral debate, they were perhaps not advantages. Mamdani turned out to be a superb activist with an affordability that resonated with the voters. Cuomo, on the other hand, was distant and seemed to try to see as few voters as he could get away. Perhaps he thought that as old governor, work was below him.

Like the 2024 presidential election, the mayor’s primaries were an election to change. Victory depended on the exploitation of voters’ anger. It should be noted that Mamdani seems to have successfully succeeded in the demographic data that had moved away from the Democratic Party in 2024, including young people (especially young men), Asians and Latinos.

In truth, Mamdani benefited from being an anti-system candidate, and Cuomo was weighed down by being the poster of the establishment. After the failure of the presidency of Biden, who showed how unhappy the centrist democrats were in the face of the crisis of the moment, why would the approval of the former party help Cuomo? In 2025, who can take the political advice of Bill Clinton or Jim Clyburn seriously? The party’s elite had merged around the Biden and decreased Biden in 2020, which succeeded in the short term – Biden won the appointment and the elections – but the strategy finally led to the disaster.

Mamdani’s victory is a sign that the establishment of the Democratic Party is in trouble and that the party is ready for a wider revolt. The next decision of progressive democrats is to start directing insurgent candidates in the primaries to exploit the anger of the moment. One can easily imagine harmful characters like Ritchie Torres, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer targeted for the main challenges. Mamdani has established the strategy. The left should now follow his example.

The establishment of the Democratic Party is old, weak and corrupt. It is a crucial element to save American democracy.

CNN data chief analyst Harry Enton summed up the elections saying: “People who hate the most result are Democratic establishment. We saw his survey after his election showing that democratic voters are fed up with their leaders in Washington, fed up with their leaders in government. ” The objective should now be to give the creation of many other elections to hate.