Anand Giridharadas

Nov 5

The.Ink

The profound insight of the Zohran Mamdani campaign was that people want to be summoned to do more, not less; they want to get together, not lurk on screens alone; they want to belong in hope, not just commiserate in anger; they want to organize, not agonize.

Exit polling after Mamdani’s victory shows that his voters were likely motivated by two things: high rent and student debt. His voters were largely college-educated city transplants, renters, and people under 30. Does his victory prove the thesis you laid out in your 2020 email?

In 2016, Trump rose to power due to economic despair in the heartland. This week, Mamdani rose to power due to economic despair in Brooklyn. Is the future of politics just class warfare?

n early analysis of the vote showed that three-quarters of New York voters under the age of 30 supported Mamdani

What works in New York may not work everywhere—the issues and people aren’t the same. But the point is that Mamdani acknowledged and spoke to the humanity of his prospective constituents, and did so with considerable discipline in staying on message. Throughout the campaign, when attacked, Mamdani seemed to respond by doubling down, not against his... See more