A party that once claimed to fight for the people is now scared to bare its teeth in the fight against autocracy.
Enter Zohran Mamdani–a man who refused to smile politely while his city bled.
When it was clear on election night President Donald Trump had secured an nonconsecutive second term, the Democratic party was sent reeling. How had a largely unpopular, one-term president reclaimed the White House? After trying to overturn the 2020 election? After the Capitol riots? After two impeachments?
It wasn’t just Trump’s comeback story that shocked America; it was the Democratic party simultaneously collapsing under the weight of its own cowardice.
Discussion as to what went wrong was scattered. Mainstream liberals and establishment Democrats questioned whether they’d been too “radical.” Many people on the left criticized the current state of the party. Timid leadership, arrogant stubbornness, and toothless half-measures on issues such as the economy, the cost of living and Israel’s genocide in Gaza came back to haunt Democrats.
Gone are the days of the “lesser of two evils” appeal. Years of milquetoast politics and concessions to right-wing framing have finally caught up to the establishment. And voters are eagerly searching for change.
Then comes Mamdani. The assemblyman representing New York State’s 36th district was polling as low as 1 percent after launching his mayoral campaign in October 2024. But in June, he upset Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s democratic primary. Cuomo, the disgraced former governor of New York and part of a political dynasty, was the favorite for the Democratic nomination all the way to election night. Mamdani’s victory turned a local election into a nationwide story. He took what was supposed to be a predictable race and turned it into a referendum on the Democratic establishment’s failure to grow a spine.
Lowering the cost of living. Freezing the rent. Making buses fast and free. Delivering universal childcare. It wouldn’t take more than 20 seconds on Mamdani’s X (Twitter) page to know what his campaign is all about.
Mamdani has laid a path for Democrats to follow. His growing support has not been diminished by the “democratic socialist” label he ascribes to himself, nor the inaccurate smears made by his opponents. No matter how much Mamdani’s racial and religious identity is attacked, or how many times he’s wrongly called “antisemitic” or a “communist,” his message reigns supreme. His politics are the opposite of toothless because they bite into the issues the working class face, centering around the needs of the people he’s seeking to serve.
He galvanized New Yorkers looking for something different from their elected officials–from normal, run-of-the-mill Democrats. Thousands knocked on doors canvassing for Mamdani. He walked miles around New York City (literally) and talked to New Yorkers face-to-face on the street. His social media was flooded with campaign ads that conveyed his goals and made him come across as an everyday person. He worked in tandem with other New York City politicians to beat Cuomo, cross-endorsing with fellow mayoral candidates Brad Lander and Michael Blake.
The Democrat on November’s general election ballot will be Mamdani, but his name symbolizes the work done by people–both voters and office holders–that believe change is possible.
Still, many Democrats in Washington refuse to tap into what’s worked for Mamdani, and prominent New York officials have not endorsed the nominee of their own party. Democrat leaders are willfully out of touch with what their voters want. And while the Trump administration favors unprecedented attacks on democracy over improving the cost of living, voters have grown fed up. Congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York, write “strongly worded letters” to Trump, feebly posturing as legitimate opposition. They are beholden to the status quo and big money donors, as most of the Democratic establishment is.
Trump won reelection in part due to positioning himself as the antithesis of business as usual. American voters sought something different. They didn’t view Kamala Harris as a big enough shift from the norm, even if it meant once again electing the guy who unceremoniously left office a few years earlier.
Progressive, populist democratic primary challengers have popped up all over the country following Mamdani’s rise. With the 2026 midterms on the horizon, progressive challengers like Kat Abughazhaleh and Kevin Ryan are running in Illinois for the house and senate, respectively. Mamdani’s triumph over Cuomo has helped spark a wave of Washington hopefuls entering democratic primaries.
Now there are fresh faces looking to turn the Democratic party back to the party of working class people, discontent with the job current Democrats are doing in fighting fascism.
What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity. And what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience.
Zohran Mamdani
When politicians run on progressive economic ideals, the go-to response seems to have always been “sounds great, but–” Mamdani has spoken extensively on how he plans to bring his ideas to fruition, laying out step-by-step how funds and resources will be allocated to create the Department of Community Safety and city-run grocery stores.
Vice President JD Vance attributes the Trump administration’s efforts to stop crime as a result of having the “political willpower” to do so. There is no doubt that Mamdani’s goals, seen as lofty by many, will be met with resistance from city, state and federal officials.
While America stares down the barrel of authoritarianism, people in government and establishment politicians would much rather see his platform be shot down. Hence Trump’s inflammatory threats to “defund the city” if Mamdani wins.
“What I don’t have in experience I make up for in integrity, and what you don’t have in integrity you could never make up for in experience,” Mamdani said to Cuomo in a debate.
His words make clear why voters are seeking leaders who prioritize principle over politics. Mamdani is the heavy favorite to win November’s New York City mayoral election. He and his coalition have channeled their political willpower over the past year in a fight to make the biggest city in America affordable.
Whether or not Mamdani wins, or how successful his time in office is or isn’t, he’s already done what the Democrats couldn’t: grow teeth– and use them.
Velocity 
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