Zohran Mamdani was the underdog in every pre-election poll in the New York Democratic mayoral primary. He was up against firm favorite Andrew Cuomo, who could boast a colossal election warchest, the might of the DNC behind him, a bevvy of heavyweight endorsements, and the establishment media firmly in his corner.
On paper, a 33-year-old socialist Muslim with little name recognition going into the campaign shouldn’t have stood a chance. But Mamdani put in the legwork, constantly meeting New Yorkers, communicating his ideas to make the city a nicer place to live, deploying an army of committed volunteers, and running a highly successful social media campaign.
