I was fortunate enough to call New York home for many years and it truly is no hyperbole to say that the city is someplace special. To my immense joy, on Tuesday the city elected a new mayor — one who sees the city much the same way I do, a place where anyone can belong even if they don’t fit into a particular box.
Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York, New York, spoke of a city I wanted to believe in. One that was a better place for everyone, for the aunties who ride the bus and the Halal cart vendors trying to make rent. He wanted to eliminate food deserts and ease the childcare burden on families. While his principal opponent ran a campaign filled with racist, AI-generated slop, Mamdani created a movement that facilitated connecting with your neighbor (forgive the Times article’s condescending tone).
And it seems that Mamdani’s vision won out. Tuesday’s election saw record voter turnout with Mamdani winning over a million votes. The story of the city he told captivated the public and offered something different to believe in. New York wasn’t a decrepit, crime addled city: it was a beautiful, vibrant metropolis that could be even more. His offered something to believe in, he offered a hope beyond malaise and antipathy. It was a new story. People want to believe in something; opposition and resistance can only go so far without something more to fight for.
For going on a decade now, a great deal of the American electorate has been inspired by the animus of a wannabe autocrat. The story he tells is of an America that’s floundering and needs to be restored to how it once was — never mind if it disadvantages the many. Redirect your dissatisfaction at the immigrant, for they only wish you harm. The poor, the unhoused, and the migrant are leeches, cast them out. A zeitgeist of xenophobia, misogyny, and racism was tapped into and that story animated enough people that it won out in the primaries (where his opponents spoke only of stopping the then-administration’s agenda) and the general election (against an opponent whose campaign carried a slick veneer of inevitability).
The 2020 election was a referendum on this. Those horrid beliefs did not past muster and so their avatar was cast out. But four years later the administration and its successors failed to offer a counter-narrative beyond so-called normalcy. There were few dreams besides a return to how life was before. Business as usual but not as bad as the other guy. And so the other guy won, his hollow promises and vision of retributions providing a story—no matter how vile—that his opponent lacked. Now here we are.
So much ink has been spilt analyzing Mamdani’s victory and what it means for the American political landscape; this post is nothing new. I’m no political expert, but when I look at this election and the others in recent history, I see a desire for belief. Zohran Mamdani appealed to New Yorkers’ better angels and offered a narrative of hope and unity, a dream of loving your neighbor and a promise to care for the least of these. Whatever comes next for American politics, I hope the lesson learnt is that people want more than something to fight against – they want something to fight for. I know full well that this is a naive oversimplification of what wins elections, but it feels good to hope in something again, something beyond just an end to the awfulness that haunts every headline.
Essays, Not Rants! 