The Daily Populous Wednesday June 25th, 2025 day edition
Authored by time.com and submitted by LooseDistance1059

This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. The world’s economic capital stands to have a democratic socialist at the helm. No. That is not some A.I. hallucination. That really happened Tuesday in New York City’s mayoral primary. New York is still tallying the votes, for sure. But a 33-year-old state lawmaker who became an avatar for the political movement led by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading in the race for Mayor of New York City. The significance of an apparent Zohran Mamdani victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a seismic moment that signals how much of an insurgent posture Democrats are in at the moment. As party leaders fret about whether Kamala Harris lost for being seen as too "woke" on various issues, the coastal deep-blue enclaves are completely disconnected from that conversation, and the party's dreadful standing on the national stage.

“Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won,” Cuomo said of Mamdani’s showing. The 67-year-old member of a New York political dynasty did not address if he, like incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, may run in November as an independent. For his part, Mamdani was not ready to spike the football in victory. The official winner is not likely to be declared until next week at the earliest, thanks to New York’s ranked-choice voting system. Lower-performing candidates will be eliminated and their votes will be reallocated next Tuesday by the Board of Elections. Still, Cuomo quickly conceded. Mamdani, who would be the first Muslim to lead New York, has cast himself as “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare” and a progressive champion poised to lead a deeply resourced grand experiment. With strong showings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, Mamdani seemed to be coasting easily toward a shocking rise to one of the most prominent jobs in U.S. politics. For many people—particularly those outside of America—there’s the President, and then maybe the Speaker of the House. Sometimes, the Senate Majority Leader is in the pecking order. And then there’s the Mayor of New York City.

To be clear: few Establishment Democrats liked any of the viable options in the race heading into Tuesday. Mamdani’s pro-Palestinian activism drew accusations of antisemitism. Cuomo was forced from the Governor’s gig amid accusations from at least 11 women. (Cuomo has consistently denied the allegations but said he stepped down so the state could focus on governing rather than being consumed by a looming impeachment.) And Adams, the incumbent, is his own ethical mess. Still, someone has to lead New York. Should he prevail, Mamdani instantly becomes the ringleader of The Resistance. As the elected chief of the nation’s largest city—with a budget of $115 billion and 300,000 employees—he would command a platform that has few peers. But it also would be a tough test case: can a democratic socialist effectively lead such a huge bureaucracy with even fewer peers? Much like the likes of Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton, Mamdani is about to become shorthand on Fox News and the MAGAverse for rightwing attacks. And with the self-proclaimed label of democratic socialist, he is about to be an anchor that other fellow Democrats will have to deal with.

But he could also be a model for Democrats struggling to figure out how to chart a path in the second Trump era. If democratic socialists want to convince the electorate they are ready for the national stage, New York might be the best proving ground possible.

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ChurrosPotatoes on June 25th, 2025 at 05:17 UTC »

“Stunning” “Upset” “Shock” these are the words they’re using to describe his win.

I live in NYC and the campaigning against mamdani was straight up toxic whereas his ads were uplifting. Not to mention everyone asking him about isreal for… what reason? Because he’s colored? Seemed to only bolster his position as he’s the only candidate being treated diffeeently as seen in the debates and interviews.

The heat could’ve helped as it was 100F today and most of the older folk, Cuomo supporters, may not have hit the polls.

Social media, for age groups 18-35, was super saturated with Mamdani support.

Not to mention, people may just be tired of Cuomo? Not only did Mamdani’s platform seem to have an actual plan instead of general, vague, political jargon, dude seemed to actually have a soul and was down to earth. Politicians will be politicians but it was refreshing to hear someone sound human

So no. Not stunning. Well earned. Congratulations.

Jacky-V on June 25th, 2025 at 04:29 UTC »

Please for the sake of holy fuck let this be an actual watershed moment

BatmanForever93 on June 25th, 2025 at 04:11 UTC »

I hope this inspires leftists and progressives throughout the country to get involved in local politics and run for office. Mamdani came out of nowhere and most likely gonna be mayor of New York Fucking City. When you believe in good things and actually fight for them then people will vote for you. People need to realize that.