Copyright The Boston Globe
But Mamdani’s victory on Tuesday does offer Democrats at least some insight into how they can reinvigorate their base and win back voters, like young people, who have grown more and more disillusioned with the party in recent years. Mamdani, after all, clearly motivated a lot of voters to show up — Tuesday marked the first time more than 2 million New Yorkers cast a vote for mayor since 1969. And that’s in part because Mamdani energized Democratic voters to vote for an agenda they were excited about and not just against Republicans. First, what’s undeniable about Mamdani is that he ran a campaign with clear convictions. He didn’t shy away from controversial issues, and he laid out an ambitious agenda that addressed his constituents’ most pressing concerns, including the unconscionably high cost of living that has pushed too many residents out of the city. It’s true that he has a set of seemingly innate qualities that other Democratic candidates might struggle to attain, chief among them his charisma and ability to communicate. But one of the elements of his candidacy that drew in so many voters was his authenticity. And that came from his convictions. Even for supporters who disagreed with some aspects of his worldview, his candor and bold stances showed them that he was willing to fight and that he was clear about where he stood. A lot of Democrats, particularly among the establishment wing of the party, tend to be timid when it comes to certain controversial topics, tiptoeing from one talking point to another until they land somewhere that leaves few satisfied. But being bold and having conviction in your ideas could attract voters you might find surprising. Despite being a leftist, for example, Mamdani was still able to win over some conservative and Trump voters, according to exit polls. That, of course, doesn’t mean every Democrat needs to be a leftist in order to win, but it does mean that Democrats should take strong stances and embrace big, ambitious ideas, not run away from them. But what’s perhaps most revealing about the mayoral election in New York is that Mamdani campaigned as a fierce critic of Israel and an advocate for Palestinian rights. And he still won decisively, despite running in the city with the largest Jewish population in the country and a jurisdiction that elects some of Israel’s staunchest defenders, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Representative Ritchie Torres. So if Mamdani’s kind of politics around Israel and Palestine can work in New York, of all places, it’s likely to work elsewhere, too. Mamdani revealed, in other words, just how much American politics around Israel is changing, and that’s at least one lesson that Democrats across the country can learn. This column first appeared in Right, Left, and Center, Globe Opinion’s free weekly newsletter about local and national politics. If you’d like to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
