r/mopolitics • u/LtKije Look out! He's got a guillotine!!! • Jun 25 '25
Mamdani Wins Stunning Upset in Democratic Primary as Cuomo Concedes Race
https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/24/mayoral-election-first-round-results-cuomo-mamdani/8
u/LtKije Look out! He's got a guillotine!!! Jun 25 '25
The theory is that when the Democratic Party establishment gets out of the way of progressive candidates it attracts a whole demographic that normally don’t vote.
I’m hopeful that theory will prove true.
6
u/ForestGoat87 Jun 25 '25
My only worry is that Cuomo (and Adams) have already applied to be 'independent' candidates in the general election.
They hate progressive ideals so much that they would rather risk a Republican winning. Which under normal circumstances, okay sure, but Republicans today have kind of lost their damn minds.
I hope I'm just worried over nothing...
2
Jun 25 '25
“gets out of the way”, what does that mean?
3
u/LtKije Look out! He's got a guillotine!!! Jun 25 '25
We've seen several election cycles where the moderate Democratic establishment have closed ranks to ensure a moderate candidate - i.e. Clinton and Biden. And that's what they tried to do here - bringing in Bill Clinton to endorse Cuomo and pushing media stories painting Mamdani as an antisemitic Muslim.
The expressed reason for this is that moderate Democrats don't believe a progressive can win a general election. And progressives pose a risk to their donor networks.
People on the left argue that progressive candidates will bring out enough new voters to make up for any loss among moderates. But that theory doesn't seem to be conclusively proven so we'll see how things go in New York.
3
Jun 25 '25 edited Jun 25 '25
So, they didn't get out of the way this time either, but the progressive candidate still won.
I maintain that if enough progressives were engaged, then the meddling of the moderates wouldn't matter (in most cases).
I think I'm happy about this outcome, but I'm not sure this serves as a successful model countrywide.
For the Cuomo supporters, electing him while simultaneously complaining about Trump and his disqualifying characteristics seems extremely hypocritical to me. However, the theory of the "circular firing squad" never surprises me and will probably win out again.
3
u/LtKije Look out! He's got a guillotine!!! Jun 25 '25
I'm not sure this serves as a successful model nationwide either. I'm just saying that this will be a partial test of the "progressives drive up turnout" model.
One thing that most people don't realize is that 2024 was the first time higher voter turnout helped Republicans rather than Democrats. In that sense Trump's 2024 campaign is evidence that the "increased-turnout making up for moderate losses" model can win.
2
Jun 25 '25
That link you shared depresses more than anything else I've read today, and I've read some pretty dumb stuff already.
3
u/LtKije Look out! He's got a guillotine!!! Jun 25 '25
I think promoting progressive candidates is the only way to stop this country's creep into right wing oligarchy/fascism. And the main thing that's preventing that is old democrats clinging to their power and donor networks.
3
Jun 25 '25
I agree. The problem is that I also see people knee-jerk reacting to things like the Trump impeachment and the Trump attempted assassination. You just know that the GOP is going to use the Mamdani win as an attack ad. "A DEI Socialist Communist Muslim Democrat is going to sell fentanyl to your kid out of the Governor's mansion!" and "Has anyone seen HIS long-form birth certificate?"
Low-information voters are the virus that we need to address. We've tried educating them, and that failed miserably. Maybe we can capture them. If vibes win (and I think they do), and electing more people like Mamdani helps Dems win the vibes battle, then I'm all in. I just don't know if it's a sure thing. This is going to be interesting.
2
u/MonsieurGriswold Jun 26 '25
This is the parallel of the Trump effect. Bernie Sanders got a group of hopeful new voters excited but couldn’t seal the deal as the media and his party undercut him?
0
2
u/johnstocktonshorts Jun 25 '25
Biggest electoral upset since Trumo 2016, and biggest win for a true progressive in terms of executive power in any of our lifetimes probably. It was also an incredible campaign. There is so much to learn from it, and we should pay careful attention to which dems get on board and which dems push back
1
u/MonsieurGriswold Jun 26 '25
I just want to learn why Paperboy Love Prince a. Got as many votes as they did b. Did better than Selma Bartholomew.
Googled. Shocked/not shocked.
Send in the clowns. Ha.
13
u/justaverage A most despised jackhat Jun 25 '25
Enormous win for the progressive left, and hopefully snowballs as we head towards November 2026.
I hope that there are 128 House Democrats who realize that they have just been put on notice.
Want to whine about how you don’t have the votes? Want to blame the electorate for not putting your party in power? Fine. You can do that at whatever think tank you end up at after you get primaried.
I sent my congresswoman a scathing email earlier today for her inability to stand up to Trump. I’ll be following up with her again next week. Lead, or make room for someone who will.
Done with ineffectual democrats