2025 & 2026 Elections

[Paine]

Political suicide *outside of the most liberal areas* which NYC happens to be. I’ve seen the Mamdani groundswell firsthand and had plenty of conversations around town that made me believe a win was possible here. HERE. In NYC. Not many other places.

Here’s what I said and you have now selectively reframed:

You’re still missing the point. Nobody’s saying every city is NYC. But what this proves is that clear, material messaging can overcome the smears, even when the whole machine lines up against it. If that doesn’t challenge your theory, I don’t know what will.

Mamdani didn’t win because NYC is liberal. He won because he organized. Same way AOC beat Crowley. There’s no magic win button for socialists, not even in New York. If it were a layup, the establishment wouldn’t have thrown $25 million at stopping him.

 

[p5mmr9]

The sad reality of this moment is that nobody in his or her right mind would run for a major political office. We're lucky to have some really good masochists still out there, like Jeff Jackson, Adam Stein and (to be fair to my more progressive friends) AOC, but it's really, really hard to consider exposing oneself and one's family to the absolute shitstorm that is modern American politics.

There were good candidates running for the Democratic nomination. We are in an era of celebrity and attention deficit. And so, if someone isn't a celebrity or can't stick their head above that fray - they aren't given adequate publicity. The press follows the public and the public follows the press and unless you go viral - you are sunk.

 

[Paine]

Mamdani leans into Democratic Party stereotypes and that will clearly be used as ammunition against the Democrats going in to 2026...and if he actually wins the election - his inexperience will almost certainly yield growing pains at best which will (in addition to some of his more questionable policy proposals and his remarks vis a vis Israel and the Palestinian conflict and what can be broadly interpreted as veiled swipes at Jews) likely have some impact on the 2026 election.

The real problem is that there are very few national Democratic Party leaders with a national media presence. So, when one garners significant national attention - it's under significant scrutiny. Mamdani isn't the type of politician we should want under that type of national scrutiny.

So let me get this straight: you think the Democrats’ problem is…too much visibility for a young, working-class-backed politician who actually won a contested race?

Mamdani didn’t “lean into stereotypes.” He ran on housing, jobs, transit, and care. The only reason Republicans will use him as ammo is because he actually stands for something, and that scares them. That’s not a flaw. That’s a sign he’s doing something right.

The idea that we should muzzle any rising voice who might draw attacks is a recipe for paralysis. You don’t win by hiding your most energized base. You win by backing them up. If Republicans red-bait him, push back. If they twist his record, clarify it. But don’t pretend the answer is to only elevate safe, pre-cleansed centrists. That’s exactly how the party got hollowed out in the first place.

As for his supposed “swipes at Jews”: say what you mean or stop smearing. Mamdani has been outspoken about Palestinian rights and Israeli state policy, positions shared by many Jews and non-Jews alike. If you’re calling that antisemitism, you’re weaponizing identity to silence dissent. Full stop.

 

[Paine]

There were good candidates running for the Democratic nomination. We are in an era of celebrity and attention deficit. And so, if someone isn't a celebrity or can't stick their head above that fray - they aren't given adequate publicity. The press follows the public and the public follows the press and unless you go viral - you are sunk.

Or, hear me out, it’s not just about “celebrity” or “masochism.” Maybe people are responding to the rare candidate who actually speaks to their material needs.

Mamdani didn’t go viral because he danced on TikTok. He won because he organized. He had a message. A theory of change. And he didn’t talk down to people.

No one was stopping Stringer or Adrienne Adams from building the kind of organizing operation Mamdani did. They couldn’t. Because they didn’t have the energy, the message, or the base.

If “good candidates” got ignored, maybe they weren’t saying anything worth listening to. In an era where everything feels hollow, people don’t want managed blandness. They want someone who actually believes something and will fight for it.

 

[GoHeelsweeeehoooo]

Was really hoping Paperboy Love Prince would win - oh well

 

[p5mmr9]

So let me get this straight: you think the Democrats’ problem is…too much visibility for a young, working-class-backed politician who actually won a contested race?

Yeah. That's exactly what I think.

 

[Paine]

Yeah. That's exactly what I think.

Appreciate the honesty.

You’re not worried Mamdani will lose. You’re worried he’ll win and expose how empty the rest of the party’s message has become.

 

[Callatoroy]

Jeff Jackson could win if Cooper doesn’t run.

I’d vote for Jeff Jackson.

 

[duluoz]

If Republicans red-bait him, push back. If they twist his record, clarify it.

Welp, Paine has solved it everyone — simply push back and clarify! Why has nobody thought of that.

When you embrace a label like socialist (outside of NYC, SF, etc) you have dug yourself a hole that you can’t climb out of. Your ideas and policy proposals don’t matter to anyone outside of your most fervent followers, because they’re all stuck in that hole with you.

The fact that you see Mamdani’s win as some proof of concept shows you’re wearing some serious goggles. Your head is so far in the clouds, I don’t know why I even bother to engage.

I’m glad it’s Mamdani and not Cuomo. But there are very good reasons to be wary of him — woeful inexperience and pie in the sky proposals not least among them. And relative to my previous points on the national scale — IMO it’s the exact wrong time to be led by (or be painted as being led by) an incredibly polarizing minority of the Democratic party. Many who proudly call themselves socialists and comrades, including Mamdani himself.

 

[akillesheel]

honestly, color me unconvinced that Dems in NYC are significantly farther to the left than Dems anywhere else. There are more of them than in other places, sure, but that doesn't say anything about that population's place within the left wing. I think Zohran has shown that he could win a Democratic primary anywhere, personally.

 

[HintonJamesHeel]

honestly, color me unconvinced that Dems in NYC are significantly farther to the left than Dems anywhere else. There are more of them than in other places, sure, but that doesn't say anything about that population's place within the left wing. I think Zohran has shown that he could win a Democratic primary anywhere, personally.

And that’s the issue. These type of candidates can’t win nationally. They can’t be competitive nationally. The Democrats have to be smart in their primaries. It’s like the lessons from right after Cheeto winning ate already forgotten and the party is now somehow interpreting it as “we were left enough.” It’s beyond frustrating.

 

[Heelsandeers]

Progressives shouldn't make the same mistake centrists made 4 years ago when Adams won. A win doesn't validate all your priors and doesn't mean there is a large swing in national politics

Zohran ran a great campaign, under the right conditions, against a flawed opponent. All those things mattered more than his general ideological stance on the leftist-centrist spectrum

 

[Paine]

Welp, Paine has solved it everyone — simply push back and clarify! Why has nobody thought of that.

When you embrace a label like socialist (outside of NYC, SF, etc) you have dug yourself a hole that you can’t climb out of. Your ideas and policy proposals don’t matter to anyone outside of your most fervent followers, because they’re all stuck in that hole with you.

The fact that you see Mamdani’s win as some proof of concept shows you’re wearing some serious goggles. Your head is so far in the clouds, I don’t know why I even bother to engage.

I’m glad it’s Mamdani and not Cuomo. But there are very good reasons to be wary of him — woeful inexperience and pie in the sky proposals not least among them. And relative to my previous points on the national scale — IMO it’s the exact wrong time to be led by (or be painted as being led by) an incredibly polarizing minority of the Democratic party. Many who proudly call themselves socialists and comrades, including Mamdani himself.

So you mock “pushing back and clarifying” like it’s some pie-in-the-sky fantasy, but what’s your alternative? Let Republicans define our candidates uncontested? Let Fox News frame the narrative while Democrats stay silent?

You keep acting like I’m saying Mamdani can be copied and pasted into red states. I’m not. I’m saying this: he was polling at 1% three months ago, embraced the socialist label, took on $25 million in attacks, and still won a high-turnout race in America’s media capital. That doesn’t prove “socialism wins everywhere.” It proves red-baiting doesn’t always work. Which is exactly the myth you’ve spent this whole thread defending.

And if you’re “glad it’s Mamdani and not Cuomo,” maybe stop parroting Cuomo’s entire attack line.

 

[superrific]

honestly, color me unconvinced that Dems in NYC are significantly farther to the left than Dems anywhere else. There are more of them than in other places, sure, but that doesn't say anything about that population's place within the left wing. I think Zohran has shown that he could win a Democratic primary anywhere, personally.

How much time have you spent in NYC? How would you know this?

It's not so much that Dems in NYC are further left, and more that there are more of them who are far left. Lots of artists in NYC, way more than anywhere else. Lots of would-be artists who became waiters, lol (that stereotype is hackneyed but not untrue). The education levels in Manhattan are off the charts. And because of the neighborhood structure, associative sorting is super-easy and that tends to increase polarization.

When I lived in Park Slope Brooklyn, I had an 8th floor condo in a building with about 25 units. In those units, there was precisely one white-white couple. There was my Indian wife and me; an Indian husband with a white wife. Two black-white couples. A black-Latino couple. Three East Asian/white couples. The white/white couple was older and didn't have any kids living with them. So literally every single kid living in that building was multi-racial.

That was not unusual in Park Slope. And then we would go to the Park, and the Park would draw visitors from surrounding neighborhoods: upscale diverse Park Slope; a largely Haitian/Carribbean community in Flatbush; Italian communities to the south, and African and American black populations to the north. On weekends, there would be big soccer games -- someone would bring some hockey nets and they'd play 11 v 11. I never saw any goals but everyone seemed to have lots of fun, and the games were like watching the floor at the UN. Every single skin color was there.

 

[Heelsandeers]

Lol

 

[duluoz]

Mamdani didn’t go viral because he danced on TikTok. He won because he organized. He had a message. A theory of change. And he didn’t talk down to people.

Don’t kid yourself. I live here and have had these conversations. Young people in NYC are very opposed to Israeli treatment of Palestinians, from Gaza bombings to settlements and occupation to you name it. It is currently THE motivating issue among that demographic here. Way more so than free buses. Even if some won’t say it out loud.

No matter how Mamdani has walked that line lately with his messaging, there is a tacit understanding by his voters (especially young voters) that he is of course with them on that. That, and his youth and charisma are what has them lining up behind him. Plus having such an easy narrative foil as Cuomo.

Sure he’s well organized which helped him pull in broader support and also did fine in the debates… but after the identity politics, the rest was paint by numbers to fill in his platform. Hardly revolutionary.

 

[wmheel1287]

I’d vote for Jeff Jackson.

And yet Jeff Jackson shares down the line the priorities and policies of the people that you rail against on here.

 

[Paine]

Progressives shouldn't make the same mistake centrists made 4 years ago when Adams won. A win doesn't validate all your priors and doesn't mean there is a large swing in national politics

Zohran ran a great campaign, under the right conditions, against a flawed opponent. All those things mattered more than his general ideological stance on the leftist-centrist spectrum

Saying he “ran a great campaign” is doing a lot of work here. The implication is that it wasn’t his ideology, it wasn’t the movement behind him, it wasn’t his message; it was just tactics and a weak opponent.

No one’s saying this is a national landslide. But it is a real crack in the conventional wisdom. The idea that “socialist” is still a disqualifying label just took a hit. You don’t have to think this changes everything to acknowledge that.

The lesson here isn’t that any leftist can win anywhere. It’s that a candidate who stands on their own two feet, believes what they say, and grounds their campaign in organizing around material interests can win even when the whole machine lines up to stop them.

 

[wmheel1287]

Don’t kid yourself. I live here and have had these conversations. Young people in NYC are very opposed to Israeli treatment of Palestinians, from Gaza bombings to settlements and occupation to you name it. It is currently THE motivating issue among that demographic here. Way more so than free buses. Even if some won’t say it out loud.

No matter how Mamdani has walked that line lately with his messaging, there is a tacit understanding by his voters (especially young voters) that he is of course with them on that. That, and his youth and charisma are what has them lining up behind him. Plus having such an easy narrative foil as Cuomo.

Sure he’s well organized which helped him pull in broader support and also did fine in the debates… but after the identity politics, the rest was paint by numbers to fill in his platform. Hardly revolutionary.

Was just in NYC over the last couple of weeks and the conversations I overheard about that race seemed to line up with what you're saying here. I'm not saying Paine is wrong about Mamdani, but I also agree that this primary was at least in part a referendum on Israel and Gaza.

 

[wmheel1287]

By the way, PPP poling based in Chapel Hill and run by UNC baseball superfan Tom Jensen was the only polling operation in the country to correctly call the NYC race. Kudos to Tom.