How Zohran Mamdani Beat the Machine

He was smeared as a radical, a terrorist sympathizer, a threat. But New Yorkers saw something else: themselves.

It wasn’t lost on me that Zohran Mamdani chose to speak in Arabic in his closing campaign ad, with a Palestinian flag hanging in the background.

In the final moments before New York City voters made their choice, Mamdani didn’t soften, retreat, or triangulate. He leaned in. A 34-year-old Muslim, democratic socialist, Ugandan-born son of immigrants, speaking directly to the people in the shared language of a group of people who have been so vilified by so many.

This was not just a campaign ad — it was a signal, a declaration of principle. And it worked.

Despite $22 million spent by 26 billionaires to stop him, Mamdani won. To use one of Trump’s preferred words: It was huge. He won with Jewish support, Muslim support, working-class support — a coalition so sweeping it made a mockery of the tired desperate and divisive narratives that tried to box him in.

So while pundits sneer. While a former governor, armed with unlimited PAC money, warned that electing Mamdani would be the city’s doom, on election night, the people of New York proved all the cynics and oligarchs wrong. Mamdani won decisively, powered by an electrified multiracial coalition of ordinary New Yorkers. This was more than an upset; it was a popular rebellion in the heart of America’s largest city.

Mamdani ripped up the script!

Billionaires vs. the People

Donald Trump himself all but made Mamdani Public Enemy #1 of the Republican agenda, smearing him as a “communist” and “total nutjob,” even musing about having him arrested. An array of ultra-wealthy donors — from Michael Bloomberg to hedge-fund magnates — bankrolled independent campaigns to derail Mamdani’s rise, fearing his vow to tax the rich.

According to a Forbes analysis, some 26 of America’s wealthiest individuals each chipped in six-figure sums to defeat him, amassing a war chest of over $22 million in anti-Mamdani efforts.

Former mayor Bloomberg alone dumped $8.3 million into a last-ditch super PAC for Mamdani’s opponent. And Trump, breaking all norms, even endorsed Democrat-turned-independent Andrew Cuomo for mayor over his own party’s nominee, effectively conceding that the Republican had no chance.

List of billionaries who pooled their money to stop Mamadani’s victory.

None of it worked. New Yorkers weren’t buying what the billionaires and fearmongers were selling. “The future is in our hands,” Mamdani declared as the results came in. Indeed, the city chose hope over tyranny and despair.

They chose a bold vision of better lives over the scare tactics of the super-rich. By voting for Mamdani, New Yorkers delivered a mandate for policies that put people first: rent freezes, fast and free buses, universal childcare, public grocery stores. These ideas were once dismissed as fantasies; now they’re at the core of the new mayor’s agenda. Mamdani promised to fund it by taxing the very billionaires who opposed him, and voters responded with a resounding “YES!”

In fact, exit polls show Mamdani built a rare multi-class, multiracial coalition. He carried voters across ethnic lines and boroughs — winning college-educated voters by 20 points, and even winning every racial group in the city. The only demographic he lost outright? The super-wealthy, those making over $200,000 a year.

In the battle of the people vs. the billionaires, the people just scored a historic victory in New York City.

Breaking the Israel Litmus Test

Mamdani’s victory also shattered a pillar of New York political orthodoxy. It had long been taken for granted that to become NYC mayor, one had to pledge allegiance to Israel and toe a pro-Israel line at all costs. Last night, that assumption crumbled.

Despite months of ferocious attacks painting him as “anti-Israel”, Mamdani not only won — he did so with significant Jewish support. Exit polls indicate that roughly one in three Jewish New Yorkers cast their ballot for Mamdani. To put that in perspective, that’s a higher share of the Jewish vote than most Republican politicians (the very ones smearing him as antisemitic) have ever managed to get!

Mamdani likely wining a majority of Jewish voters under 30, reflecting a generational sea change. Polls from July foreshadowed this shift: 43% of Jewish New Yorkers — including a stunning 67% of those under 44 — signaled support for Mamdani’s candidacy. In the end, even after a barrage of fear tactics, tens of thousands of Jewish voters (especially younger, progressive Jews) broke ranks with the so-called community “leaders” and sided with a candidate proudly supportive of Palestinian human rights and with ending the genocide.

This election is a clear repudiation of the idea that New York’s Jewish community marches in lockstep with Israel’s far-right policies. It turns out the self-appointed gatekeepers of what is “good for the Jews” do not speak for vast swaths of Jewish Americans. Mamdani’s win underscores what has been increasingly evident: Israel is losing the American Jewish public, especially the youth. The 38% of all voters who told pollsters that Israel was a factor in this race learned that their concerns could coexist with a vote for a candidate who speaks hard truths about Israeli apartheid. In New York — the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel — a pro-Palestinian Muslim immigrant just won the mayoralty.

That shakes the very foundations of the old political playbook.

Perhaps most remarkable, Mamdani achieved this without moderating his stance on Palestine one inch. He attended rallies demanding a Gaza ceasefire, called Israel’s onslaught in Gaza a “genocide,” and even quipped during the campaign that he’d have Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu arrested for war crimes if the latter set foot in NYC. His critics thought these positions would doom him; instead, they helped galvanize a movement. Mamdani treated Palestine as a moral litmus test — and enough New Yorkers agreed with him, or at least respected his integrity, to make it a winning stance.

Most New Yorkers weren’t shocked or scandalized by Mamdani’s forthright challenge to a system in which aspiring mayors felt compelled to kiss the ring of a foreign government. In fact, many saw it as refreshing.

Unapologetically Authentic Leadership

“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate, I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”

With those words, the new mayor-elect delivered a defiant rebuke to decades of political timidity. Mamdani’s identity — Ugandan-born, South Asian, Muslim, socialist — was supposed to be a liability. Instead, he turned it into a source of strength, a rallying cry for a city ready to embrace something different.

Authenticity has been Mamdani’s superpower from the start. He speaks to each community in New York in a language they understand — literally and figuratively.

He’s as comfortable knocking on doors in Queens public housing, talking about rent relief, as he is recording a video message in Arabic for immigrant neighborhoods. He’ll quote Eugene Debs and Fiorello La Guardia to connect with the city’s historical memory, then switch to the cadences of TikTok to fire up Gen Z at a rally. This kind of code-switching is deliberate and genius: it shows respect for people’s cultures and values while remaining utterly true to himself.

There is no pandering, no false persona — just a savvy storyteller who can meet people where they are. “You showed that when politics speaks to you without condescension, we can usher in a new era of leadership,” Mamdani told young voters on election night. In an age of scripted politicians and focus-grouped blandness, Mamdani’s unfiltered honesty has been a breath of fresh air.

His mastery of social media and storytelling helped capture the imagination of the city’s diverse electorate. He projected confidence beyond his years, a calm demeanor that stood in stark contrast to the shrill panic of his detractors. Tens of thousands of young volunteers rallied to his side, drawn by a candidate who didn’t mince words or betray his principles. Even when a billionaire-funded campaign plastered the airwaves with attack ads calling him a monster for saying “Free Palestine,” Mamdani refused to back down an inch — and that clarity earned voters’ respect. There is a lesson here: authenticity isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a political force.

By being unapologetically himself, Mamdani built trust across a broad spectrum of New Yorkers who were done with politicians who apologize for everything and stand for nothing.

Sore Losers and Smear Campaigns (Beyond Parody)

The aftermath of Mamdani’s win has been equal parts comedic and pathetic. His critics seem genuinely baffled that their playbook failed. On X (formerly Twitter), right-wing propagandists like Arsen Ostrovsky expressed sputtering disbelief, hurling the same tired slurs that clearly didn’t sway voters in the least.

Republicans and conservative Democrats who spent months obsessing over Israel in this race are now, with straight faces, telling Mamdani to forget about Israel and stick to local issues. A pro-Israel lobby group that did nothing all year but scream about Gaza suddenly demands the new mayor focus on “cost of living” — as if he hadn’t built his entire campaign on exactly that. It’s sore-loser stuff beyond parody, a final self-own after a campaign of fear-mongering flopped.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate just how absurd some of the attacks on Mamdani were. For the record, here are a few things Mamdani is not thanks to Rolling Stone magazine:

• He has zero connection to 9/11 or any form of jihadist terrorism. (It’s astounding this even needs saying.)

• He has not said or done anything antisemitic. In fact, he’s vowed to protect Jewish New Yorkers and fight antisemitism unequivocally

• He never called to “globalize the intifada.” That was a slogan chanted by some activists (to the discomfort of many); Mamdani himself explicitly discouraged using that phrase.

• He is not a communist. Yes, he’s a socialist in the vein of FDR and Bernie Sanders — which is a far cry from the boogeyman caricature his opponents tried to paint.

The avalanche of lies and red-baiting got so ridiculous that even Donald Trump — never known for subtlety — stooped to new lows. In a Truth Social tirade on Election Day, Trump labeled Mamdani a “self-professed JEW HATER” and declared that “any Jewish person” who voted for him “is a stupid person!!!”.

This bile was of course aimed at shaming Jewish voters, but its hysterical tone only highlighted how panicked the president was at the prospect of Mamdani’s win.

Mamdani, for his part, fired right back. He basically told Trump that New York’s Jews don’t need lectures from a man who cozies up to white supremacists and calls Neo-Nazis “fine people.”

”We deserve more than a president trying to define who is a “good Jew” — how about listening to Jewish New Yorkers themselves?”

Mamdani’s rejoinder hit the mark: Trump doesn’t speak for New York, and his attempt to bully voters only steeled their resolve.

Perhaps the most outlandish reaction came from overseas. In Israel, the far-right government went into meltdown over Mamdani’s election. One Israeli minister, Amichai Chikli (the Diaspora Affairs minister, of all things), literally urged New York’s Jews to flee the city and emigrate to Israel in response to Mamdani’s win. Chikli branded Mamdani a “Hamas supporter” and outrageously compared his views to those of the 9/11 terrorists.

(Yes, you read that right. An Israeli official invoked September 11th to slander the democratically elected mayor of New York.)

It’s hard to overstate how unhinged and frankly ironic this is. Here we have a member of Israel’s government — who himself has supported extreme nationalist agendas and the continued colonization of Palestinian land — fear-mongering that New York is no longer safe for Jews because a socialist Muslim is in charge. In the same breath, he invites New York’s Jews to “come home” to Israel, effectively using Mamdani’s win as a recruitment ad for Israeli settlements.

You almost have to laugh at the cynicism: as Israel continues to level entire neighborhoods in Gaza, its diaspora minister is concern-trolling about New York’s safety and beckoning American Jews to bolster Israel’s demographic war. If nothing else, Chikli’s tirade proves one thing – Mamdani’s win represents such a paradigm shift that it’s rattling people who don’t even live here.

Well, to all the doomsayers who swore they’d leave if Zohran won: the exits are open. Maybe we should start a volunteer squad to direct traffic for the million New Yorkers who promised to pack up now that a socialist mayor is at the helm. (Alan Dershowitz, we can have a special volunteer wave your car through first.) Of course, this “exodus” will likely be as phony as all the other scare tactics. Most New Yorkers are not going anywhere — they’re busy rejoicing in the fact that, at long last, City Hall might actually represent them instead of billionaires and outside interests.

The Dawn of a New Era

Beyond the fury of those who lost, something profound has shifted. For the first time in a long time, people are feeling hope swell in New York City.

Mamdani’s election is more than a changing of the guard at Gracie Mansion; it’s an emphatic statement about the power of the people in an era of oligarchy and authoritarian creep. It shows that a diverse working-class populace, when united by a bold vision and an authentic voice, can overcome almost any obstacle — be it billionaire money, media hysteria, or threats from the President of the United States.

Remember, this was supposed to be impossible. The elites told us a democratic socialist could never win in New York. Cable news talking heads scoffed; newspaper editorial boards tut-tutted. Even top Democrats like Senator Chuck Schumer refused to endorse Mamdani, treating him as an embarrassing fluke. But Mamdani and his supporters understood something fundamental: to beat an authoritarian movement like Trump’s, you have to prove that democracy can actually deliver. “You cannot defeat this attack on democracy unless you also prove its worth,” Mamdani told The Nation earlier this year. And he was right. What took Mamdani’s candidacy from mission impossible to Mr. Mayor was his insistence on delivering tangible improvements in people’s lives. While Trump peddled hate and many establishment Democrats offered only technocratic half-measures, Mamdani offered a New Deal for New York. “A life of dignity should not be reserved for a fortunate few. It should be one that city government guarantees for each and every New Yorker,” he declared.

That vision — coupled with concrete plans like freezing rents, making buses free, expanding childcare, and reining in billionaire landlords — ignited a fire in voters who had been told to settle for crumbs.

Of course, there is much work ahead. Mamdani will take office at an undeniably daunting moment: a housing crisis, a frayed social safety net, an emboldened far-right in Washington itching to sabotage progressive cities. His enemies — on Wall Street, in Albany, and in DC — will no doubt continue to scheme against him. As president, Trump has already threatened to withhold federal funds from New York City as punishment for electing a mayor he doesn’t like. The billionaires who failed to stop Mamdani at the ballot box will try to block him in boardrooms and courtrooms.

But Mamdani has something far more powerful on his side: the people. If he governs as boldly as he campaigned — staying true to his principles while delivering real results — he can fundamentally transform New York and inspire the nation. His success would offer a roadmap for how to revive democracy from the ground up: by making it matter to people’s everyday lives. That’s exactly what Trump and his fellow oligarchs fear. As Mamdani himself said,

“They are the authoritarians who seek to keep us pressed beneath their thumbs, because they know that once we shake ourselves loose, we will never be held down again.”.

On the night of his victory, Zohran Mamdani quoted Eugene Debs: “The sun may have set over our city this evening, but ... I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”

In Mamdani’s win, millions of us can see the first light of that better day dawning over New York. It’s the light of a city that remembered its own power. The people of New York, so often told to abandon hope, instead stood up and shook themselves loose. They chose solidarity over fear, authenticity over cynicism, justice over cruelty. And in doing so, they reclaimed their city. This is the promise that Zohran Mamdani carries into City Hall: that the people, united and unafraid, can never be held down again.

In an age of darkness, New York’s people-powered uprising is a beacon. Its message echoes far beyond the five boroughs:

When leaders speak to our pain and our dreams — when they dare to be real with us — we the people can move mountains.

New Yorkers have shown that the power was always theirs. And now, with an unapologetic truth-teller leading the way, may they use it to forge a more just, dignified and beautiful future for all, together.

A new era has begun.