Zohran Mamdani is Making Socialism Sexy Again

Is it not clocking to you that he's standing on business?

Zohran Mamdani, the proudly socialist mayoral candidate in New York City, is living proof of the power of a campaign that truly connects with the people – and Democrats everywhere should be taking notes.

At a time when Dems are looking for more from their elected officials and internal faith in leadership has tanked, leading to calls for both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to step down after caving to Trump/ Republicans’ demands, Zohran’s commitment to his unapologetically left-wing ideologies have been a breath of fresh air. By staying in his lane and not running to the center like other Democrats overwhelmingly seem to be doing, he has fired up a base of left-of-center New Yorkers that Dems are struggling to reach (including men), and reshaped the primary by banding together with opponents Brad Lander and Michael Blake to collectively block Andrew Cuomo from receiving the nomination.

His team’s digital strategy has also helped him reach an audience that includes, but also goes far beyond New York City. By creating vibrant graphics and working with digital creators (including me!), Zohran has built up a memorable online presence and showed viewers who he is, both politically and personally. He has created a clear grassroots alternative to a political space that often feels bought and sold by billionaires and has remained himself through it all – youthful, intentional, authentic, and socialist.

The successes that his team has achieved, making a relatively unknown man a national icon that’s barely trailing Cuomo’s campaign and picking up endorsements from Bernie Sanders and AOC, are largely due to having a clear, core message that people care about and – most importantly – sticking to the message. Zohran’s people-first goals that focus on everyday issues – lowering costs, freezing rents, and making living in New York affordable – has been the core ideology of his campaign from the start, and has resonated with thousands of New Yorkers that are feeling the impacts of the Trump economy (and the NYC economy) and want a change.

Beyond his ideology, Zohran has also managed to inject great vibes back into politics – from wedding photos in the subway to a lookalike contest put on by the man behind the original (his first one since Timothée Chalamet) to colorful, retro-looking graphics, he’s real and authentic and likeable.

It’s easy to vote for someone you like, someone that looks and talks like the people you’re surrounded by and that makes an effort to reach everyone where they are, including mailers in East and South Asian languages and ads in Hindi and Spanish. While I’m not going to say this strategy wasn’t as well-planned as his political one, there’s something to be said about the importance of being as authentic as you say you are, especially as other Dems are sprinting to the right to woo the ‘undecideds’ while leaving left-leaning voters behind.

Even with the clear success his campaign is having and the coalitions Zohran has managed to build, the Democratic establishment still seems terrified to follow suit. With a party in disarray and internal fights breaking out at the DNC, Dems know something needs to change, but are wary of candidates successfully bringing about that change, which doesn’t bode well for elections next year. Zohran’s method of tapping into the frustration people are feeling and providing a cohesive alternative plan that’s easily digestible is one that Dems should follow; everything Zohran says and does traces back intentionally to his core campaign platform, and other Dems should see the value of standing on business instead of speaking in platitudes online while voting differently IRL and hoping no one notices. I hope to see a lot more Zohrans in the world in the next few months; we need more young, energetic, and vigorous campaigns to redefine what it means to be on the left and make socialism sexy again.

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