Why Mamdani Won
Washington Watch
June 30th, 2025
Dr. James J. Zogby ©
President
Arab American Institute
It was 2006 and Tim Kaine had recently won the Virginia gubernatorial election. I was at a meeting at Democratic Party headquarters with a group of party officials. One opined, “I believe that one of the lessons we should learn from Tim Kaine’s victory was that we need to talk more about our religion. Kaine did and he won. We should do it too.”
Over the month that followed, I observed that same official on TV and at public events awkwardly and uncomfortably talking about religion. Finally, at our next meeting I decided to speak with him. “I held back last month and didn’t challenge your observation about Tim Kaine’s victory. But I need to tell you that I don’t believe he won because he talked about religion. He won because he was authentic. Because his religion is an important part of his identity, he had to talk about it, and he did so comfortably. After listening to you over the past few weeks, it’s clear that religion isn’t an important part of your life and so when you try to force it, you sound inauthentic. Please only talk about who you are.”
I was reminded of this story after watching Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s Democratic Party primary election. Over the next few days, the pundits and consultants had a field day giving self-serving explanations for his win. One, who’s been pushing the party to support young candidates to challenge its “old guard,” said, “Mamdani won because he’s young. We need more young candidates to defeat old-timers.” A consultant who earns his living designing messaging for poll-driven candidates noted Mamdani’s victory is “a great example of how far you can go if you genuinely center your campaign in an engaging way around the issue that voters overwhelmingly say, in surveys, they care the most about.” Still others pointed to his main opponent’s record of sexual harassment, corruption, and cronyism. There was also the fact that instead of relying of millions of dollars in TV ads, Zohran Mamdani directly engaged with tens of thousands of voters, up close and personal. Last but not least, there were those who said that he won because of his avowedly progressive socialist agenda—calling for free public transportation, rent freeze, free childcare, and city-owned grocery stores in underserved areas. While all of the above may, to varying degrees, be true, even adding all of them together would be insufficient to account for Mamdani’s striking victory.
The reason Zohran Mamdani won was because he was authentic and unflappable. He was comfortable in his own skin, unapologetic about his deeply held beliefs, and able to be direct and honest with media and voters with whom he engaged.
In this same vein, it was refreshing to see him field questions about statements he had made about Israel and Palestinian rights. Most other candidates I’ve known, when put in that position, hesitate and shift uncomfortably in their seats trying to recall how their “advisors” told them to handle tough questions. When they respond, they offer an incoherent word salad that reeks of inauthenticity and satisfies no one.
Not so with Mamdani. When questioned about his positions on Israel or Palestinian rights, he answers directly without hesitation, neutralizing the issue not with confusion, but with clarity and honesty. Look at these two quotes from his election night victory speech.
“I promise you will not always agree with me, but I will never hide from you. If you are hurting, I will try to heal. If you feel misunderstood, I will strive to understand. Your concerns will always be mine.”
“There are millions of New Yorkers who have strong feelings about what happens overseas. Yes, I am one of them, and while I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments grounded in the demand for equality, for humanity, you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree and wrestle deeply with those disagreements.”
It is this authenticity—his “ringing true, like a bell”—that voters find most compelling, including the substantial number of Jewish voters who supported and voted for him.
During the primary election, 30 million dollars were spent against Mamdani in negative ads. He can expect that much many times over in the general election, as establishment Democrats and Republicans wage a campaign to smear, tarnish, and make this young South Asian Muslim into a threat. It’s already begun on social media as Republicans and some in the pro-Israel community attempt to shape the negative narrative they will use to weaken his candidacy.
One compared his win to 9/11, saying: “After 9/11 we said ‘Never Forget.’ I think we sadly have forgotten.” Another depicted Mamdani's victory showing the Statue of Liberty shrouded in what is supposed to be a burka. And one rightwing Jewish group tweeted that it’s time for Jews to pack up and leave New York City.
Because the Democrats’ consultant class will cower in the face of this onslaught, they will apply pressure on Zohran Mamdani trying to convince him to tamp down his progressive agenda and back off his support for Palestinians. They will want to neuter him by inviting him to “join the fold” of consultant-driven mush-mouthed politicians. What they don’t understand is that if he were to succumb to this pressure, he would lose the very quality that energized young and progressive voters and decisively won this election—his authenticity. Mamdani has no need for their “expertise” and I suspect that, despite his youth, he is well aware that being true to himself and honest with the voters will continue to be his path to victory.
