Despite what Sinatra would have us believe, if you can make it in New York it doesn't mean you'll make it in the mid west or any of the purple states. (Democrats haven't had a vote share lower than 65% since the 00s I think)
Yes, a record number came out to support him but almost as many came out to support anyone but him :(
My hope is that for all the naysaying, Mamdani turns out to be a technocrat in the Sewer Socialist model and shows the country socialism ain't so scary. The whole "laboratories of democracy" in action.
Considering it was a three-way race, I feel like this is a bit of a doomer take.
I agree that a Mamdani victory in New York City does not translate to socialist enthusiasm everywhere else in the country. But I do think it accurately shows two things:
Moving the Dem party is possible through the democratic process, if you actually fucking show up and vote in primaries.
Democratic socialism, as a term, is no longer the poison pill it once was in general elections. (Thank you Bernie, for walking for forty long years so my generation can hopefully run 🙏😭)
In addition, I suspect that Mamdani's victory can be replicated in many cities.
There's not going to be a demsoc victory in fucking rural West Virginia anytime soon, no matter how loudly some Very Serious Commenters talk about how the only thing needed to appeal to the proletariat is going further left. Nor is it likely that purple states will be voting in demsoc candidates anytime soon - though, if a demsoc runs in the primary, one should vote for them, and if they manage to actually win the primary, that is a very, exceptionally hopeful sign for an appetite of the state's electorate for a demsoc victory in the general.
But Mamdani's victory also genuinely shows that the only reason that neoliberals and moderates have such a stranglehold on the party is because we let them. If we stop simply letting them, as we have in NYC, we can make a broader left-coalition Dem Party, wrested from their ghoulish gerontocratic hands.
We can't make the Dems demsoc overnight. But we can demand a much larger voice at the table.
Exactly. Pushing for chicago and LA next should be the goal. If the agenda can be proved workable and avoid Sabotage, it'll massively up the appeal