THIS IS BIG. The headline is from two short paragraphs in MPR's carry of an AP report.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/06/25/zohran-mamdani-declares-victory-in-nycs-democratic-mayoral-primary-as-cuomo-concedes
A breath of fresh air in Schumer - Jeffries land. The ho-hum candidate lost.
New Your City is ready for an unusual experience. A non-Machine mayor.
They've had Bloomberg, Christsakes, and Rudy the bankrupt loudmouth Trump gofor.
This guy, a winner. Hope for a good term in office (although so far he's won only the Dem primary).
___________UPDATE___________
Since some may not read the details of the story, an excerpt of important items:
Cuomo characterized the city as a threatening, out-of-control place
desperate for an experienced leader who could restore order. He brought
the power of a political dynasty to the race, securing an impressive
array of endorsements from important local leaders and labor groups, all
while political action committees created to support his campaign
pulled in staggering sums of cash.
Mamdani, meanwhile, offered an
optimistic message that life in the city could improve under his agenda,
which was laser-focused on the idea that a mayor has the power to do
things that lower the cost of living. The party’s progressive wing
coalesced behind him and he secured endorsements from two of the
country’s foremost progressives, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen.
Bernie Sanders.
Unofficial results from the New York City’s Board
of Elections showed that Mamdani was ranked on more ballots than Cuomo.
Mamdani was listed as the second choice by tens of thousands of more
voters than Cuomo. And the number of votes that will factor into ranked
choice voting is sure to shrink. More than 200,000 voters only listed a
first choice, the Board of Elections results show, meaning that
Mamdani’s performance in the first round may ultimately be enough to
clear the 50% threshold.
The race’s ultimate outcome could say something about what kind of leader Democrats are looking for during President Donald Trump’s second term.
[... above link in original]
Mamdani's grassroots run has been hard not to notice.
His army
of young canvassers relentlessly knocked on doors throughout the city
seeking support. Posters of his grinning mug were up on shop windows.
You couldn't get on social media without seeing one of his well-produced
videos pitching his vision — free buses, free child care, new
apartments, a higher minimum wage and more, paid for by new taxes on
rich people.
That youthful energy was apparent Tuesday evening, as
both cautiously optimistic canvassers and ecstatic supporters lined the
streets of Central Brooklyn on a sizzling hot summer day, creating a
party-like atmosphere that spread from poll sites into the surrounding
neighborhoods.
Outside his family’s Caribbean apothecary, Amani
Kojo, a 23-year-old first-time voter, passed out iced tea to Mamdani
canvassers, encouraging them to stay hydrated.
“It’s 100 degrees
outside and it's a vibe. New York City feels alive again,” Kojo said,
raising a pile of Mamdani pamphlets. “It feels very electric seeing all
the people around, the flyers, all the posts on my Instagram all day.”
Cuomo
and some other Democrats have cast Mamdani as unqualified. They say he
doesn't have the management chops to wrangle the city's sprawling
bureaucracy or handle crises. Critics have also taken aim at Mamdani's
support for Palestinian human rights.
In effect, organized progressive grassroots defeated Big Money Machine business-as-usual. As such, it is a landmark win toward 2028 midterms and 2024 elections, with Trump's vile time ending Jan 20, 2025.
In that latter situation, there will be JD. And a nation in fully uncertain circumstances, in a trade war, in conflict with Iran, and in unprecedented graft-chasing. Inflation will be an issue, until it is not.
The Repubicans might cram through that terrible bill, and its consequences will happen, chips falling where they may. But for now, a progressive agenda resonated with a dispirited voting public in a major East Coast city. We go from there.
Today's news might grow legs, or become something less than moving the nation away from its troubling status quo. Crabgrass hopes one way, Trump governs another. A trade war rages. Prices rise.
Money talks, and the rich continue their class warfare against the population, paying scant taxes, if any.
_____________FURTHER UPDATE______________
Times of Israel covers the NYC primary:
Cuomo is a centrist Democrat with a long record of support for Israel. He campaigned heavily to win over Jewish voters with appearances at synagogues, Jewish events and in meetings with Jewish leaders.
Mamdani is a longtime anti-Israel activist who has said that the
Palestinian cause got him into politics and is central to his identity.
He alarmed many Jewish New Yorkers with his anti-Israel rhetoric and
policies. He backs the boycott movement targeting Israel, has refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, identified as an anti-Zionist, and repeatedly accused Israel of genocide.
He has vowed that, if elected, he will arrest Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu if Netanyahu visits New York. Mamdani has cited the
International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu, but the
court has no jurisdiction in the US, and cooperating with the court is
illegal under federal law.
In the closing weeks of the campaign, Mamdani defended the phrase
“Globalize the intifada,” which, for Jews, is seen as a call to
violence. The Second Intifada against Israel was marked by suicide
bombings of Israeli civilians and killed over 1,000 Israelis. Mamdani’s
comparison last week of the intifada to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising drew a rebuke from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Mamdani, 33, is a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of
America, a party that has made anti-Israel activism one of its planks.
If elected in November, he will become the city’s first Muslim mayor.
A gifted communicator, Mamdani won over young, liberal voters with an
energetic campaign, savvy social media and progressive policy proposals
such as free buses, rent freezes and government-run grocery stores.
 |
| New York City mayoral candidates at a
forum hosted by the B’nai Jeshurun synagogue on the Upper West Side of
Manhattan, June 8, 2025. From left: New York City Comptroller Brad
Lander, New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and former
comptroller Scott Stringer. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel) |
Aside from Israel issues, concerns abound about Mamdani’s policies.
The public transportation system, already strapped for cash, is the
purview of the state, government-run stores could hurt small businesses,
and rent freezes could stymie real estate development, for example.
Mamdani has little legislative experience or background managing an
operation as vast as the city government. The city has more than 300,000
employees and a budget of more than $110 billion. The New York Times
editorial board said last week, “We do not believe that Mr. Mamdani
deserves a spot on New Yorkers’ ballots.”
Voters, in effect, said, "Fuck the New York Times, we're tired of their bullshit," or, "so what, the Times are irrelevant," and if so, it is a healthy outcome because the NYT is not an altogether reliable outlet, and certainly is no friend of progressives.
Continuing:
Minority and older voters favored Cuomo, according to polling ahead
of the election. Mainstream Jewish groups, including the city’s Orthodox
and Hasidic communities, also lined up behind Cuomo.
Cuomo had broader name recognition than other candidates due to his
tenure as governor, but his candidacy came with baggage. He resigned
from office in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations and was accused
of mishandling nursing homes during the COVID pandemic.
With religious Jewish communities, during the pandemic, Cuomo sparked
outrage for his policies limiting gatherings that those communities
felt targeted them. He made amends during the campaign, though, and won the endorsements of nearly all of the city’s Orthodox leaders. His COVID record may have suppressed turnout, though, despite those endorsements.
 |
| Former New York State governor Andrew
Cuomo at an event marking the completion of a new Torah scroll, in New
York City, May 15, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel) |
Mamdani also courted Jewish voters and won the endorsements of the
anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace and the far-left Jews for Economic
and Racial Justice through the group’s electoral arm, the Jewish Vote.
His cross-endorsement from Lander, who identifies as a progressive
Zionist, also may have helped him with Jewish voters. As comptroller,
Lander is the [second] highest-ranking elected official in the city government.
Polling ahead of the election showed either Lander or Mamdani as the second-choice favorite for Jewish voters, behind Cuomo.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent in the
general election. Adams, like Cuomo, is a centrist and a staunch
supporter of Israel. He has a deep well of support among Jewish
communities, particularly in Brooklyn, where he served as the borough
president, although he is unpopular with the general public. Adams has
rolled out a series of pro-Jewish measures in recent months, including setting up an antisemitism task force, establishing a business council to foster ties with Israel, and codifying the IHRA definition of antisemitism for city government.
[links are in original] With NYC having a large Jewish population Cuomo chased that vote, but still lost. Whether an anti-Trump vote was strong is undeniable, but the suggestion is the anti-Trump vote centered among the young and progressive element of the Democratic Party, and not necessarily among Jewish voters. Nor among party regulars, and that defeat of business-as-usual crap is heartening to activist progressive sentiment.
It looks as if the status quo Dem establishment was so unimpressive to voters, and the idea of change so attractive, that the vote turned out as it did.
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