Zohran victory news roundup
Zohran Mamdani marching with NYC-DSA members
By Ben D. | Metro DC
Groundwork members from New York City and around the country threw down for Zohran Mamdani’s historic victory. None of this would have been possible without 8 years of organizing and party-building. This isn’t an “only in New York” story, though. We believe that if we build a DSA for All, this success is replicable at every level.
There would be no Zohran if he hadn't joined a chapter that was strategic, disciplined, and provided him with real political education and organized experience over the years, allowing him to become who he is. The organization's structure enabled this win by providing thousands of day-one donors, almost 500 field leads, and tens of thousands of canvassers and phone bankers. That’s the DSA Difference.
It’s important to note that if someone as smart and charismatic had joined a chapter that wasn’t well organized, he would not be the nominee for mayor right now. He didn't fall from the sky, he's inseparable from NYC-DSA and the mass politics model.
Everyone who joins DSA has limitless potential if the politics and the organization are there. But on the other hand, if it isn't, that potential is wasted, and it's a tragedy. We have no way of knowing how many Zohrans never came to be because they lived in the wrong place.
We need to build an organization where everyone has the opportunity to be Zohran, where it isn't luck of the draw that you talk to the right person at your first event. We need, in every chapter and nationally, a clear structure so anyone interested in socialism is able to learn and lead.
Groundwork members and supporters have been writing and talking about just what powered the Zohran campaign and what makes DSA great:
Michael Lange broke down the race block by block in the New York Times, showing how Zohran was able to combine record youth turnout with historic gains among working class voters of color: "It was a coalition of the in-between. Seventy percent of the precincts in New York are people who rent or are majority renter. That was one of Mamdani’s best demographics. And he also did really well with people that are ‘middle income,’ which is kind of an amorphous definition, but it’s like $50,000 to $100,000 a year. He did well in working-class neighborhoods like Elmhurst, which is basically a Chinatown. He did well in middle-class-ish neighborhoods."
Michael also spoke to New York Magazine and appeared on Left on Red podcast.
Ben Davis wrote about the importance of DSA and working class organization in the Guardian: "Mamdani and the DSA cannot be separated. It’s a different, and for many Americans new, but a deeply old way of thinking about politics. Political organizations represent different classes, which are necessarily in conflict. To win for your class, you must be a representative of working-class democracy."
"Mamdani was built by the DSA and the young leftwing milieu that emerged after the Sanders campaign. They cannot be separated. Not his charisma or campaign style. He is a product of the movement."
Y.L. Al-Sheikh wrote about what Zohran’s principled support for Palestine means for building a pro-Palestine majority in the Nation: "It is thus abundantly clear that being pro-Palestinian is no longer an albatross among US liberal voters. Mamdani’s refusal to compromise on this issue wasn’t just principled and morally correct. It was also smart politics, tailored to a new media and political landscape that his rivals refused to see."
Nik M. wrote about Zohran as a model for socialist strategy in Geese Magazine: "For the ‘new’ to truly be born, the socialist principles that have propelled Zohran’s campaign must not remain abstract ideas. They must be forged into a credible, concrete vision that generates powerful affects and identifications, allowing millions to see their own concerns and aspirations reflected in the socialist struggle. The stakes of this interregnum are too high for socialism to remain a ‘lament’ from a handful of intellectuals and subculturists. Zohran’s campaign has shown that people are hungry for a bold, transformative alternative mode of politics. The task ahead for socialists is to fully articulate and embody this alternative, making the new world not just desirable, but deeply felt and politically inevitable."
Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of NYC Democratic Socialists of America, spoke with the American Prospect: "But the coalition Mamdani built ‘has shown that we can out-organize the billionaire class and whoever their chosen candidate is. We defeated them once and we will do it again,’ DSA organized 27,292 volunteers to canvas for Mamdani, and the organization counts him as a member.
‘Instead of subjecting us to yet another ego-driven campaign, Cuomo should step aside and let New Yorkers focus on defeating the fascist MAGA threat today, in November, and beyond,’ Gordillo said.’The polls showed Zohran is the candidate of workers. We are ready to work with labor to win and implement our working class agenda.’"
New York Groundworkers were also cited the Guardian:
"Mamdani ‘learned from some of the mistakes’ of the Biden administration, said Gustavo Gordillo, a co-chair of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which supported Mamdani’s campaign. His housing plan, for instance, aims to lower planet-heating pollution by boosting density, but his signature promise is a rent freeze.
Biden’s IRA placed little focus on boosting public transit, said Gordillo. This was a missed opportunity to cut emissions and also lower Americans’ fuel costs, he said.
‘We need to expand mass transit to fight the climate crisis, which hasn’t been a priority for the Democratic establishment,’ said Gordillo, who is an electrician by day. ‘But we also need to expand it because we want to improve people’s lives right now.’
‘New Yorkers want an affordable city, clean and green schools, fast and free buses, and a rent freeze,’ said Daniel Goulden, a co-chair of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America ecosocialist working Group. ‘But most importantly, New Yorkers want a future – one where they can live and thrive in New York.’"
Gustavo also appeared on the Dig podcast to talk about NYC-DSA’s role in the campaign.
Marc Krause, a co-chair of DSA-LA, was spoke with the LA Times: "While the process is member-driven, DSA-LA does not plan at the moment to run anyone for mayor"
Krause said the group’s focus is legislative change, starting with representation on the City Council.
‘I think for DSA-LA, our big goal and recent strategy is to try to win a majority on the L.A. City Council,’ he said."
In Semafor: "‘We stand with Zohran and against the xenophobia and Islamophobia of Representative Ogles and the MAGA movement,′ said Ashik Siddique, the co-chair of DSA’s national political committee. Some communist organizations, which the candidate doesn’t belong to, had been critical of Mamdani. DSA, which he does belong to, has defended him.
‘Representative Ogles is trying to do to Zohran what the authoritarian Trump administration has done across the country, from activists for Palestine like Mahmoud Khalil in New York, to migrants in Los Angeles,’ said Siddique. ‘Only democratic socialism can stop this rising fascism, and we call on all Americans to reject this hatred and division. Zohran’s campaign shows a politics of hope and inclusivity can beat a politics of fear, and that’s just what we’ll do.’"
In the Observer: "‘What Mamdani’s campaign represents is the hunger for a real alternative to the status quo,’ said Ashik Siddique, national political committee co-chair for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which counts Mamdani as a member.
‘The Democratic party establishment for many electoral cycles now has been very cynical about democracy, not trusting that people are capable of making informed choices.’
Siddique said they were focused on building their base at the local level and optimistic about DSA candidate Omar Fateh running for Minneapolis mayor against the Democratic incumbent Jacob Frey in November."
