Defining a New Generation of Progressive Politics – The Spectator

Initially an unknown Queens assemblyman, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani became a winning favorite in the New York City mayoral race, leading to thousands of Americans refreshing their feeds the night of Nov. 4 to see if he would beat the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. The 34-year-old Indian Muslim won the race with 50.4% of the vote against Cuomo, but his successful campaign reached far beyond the five boroughs and garnered nationwide attention. 

On election night, Mamdani was asked, “What do you think it means to be a Democratic socialist?” Mamdani’s answer was simple: “It means that every New Yorker has what they need to live a dignified life. It’s the local government’s responsibility to provide that.” 

There is a rising number of progressive candidates being elected into office with the support of younger generations who are looking for policies of affordable housing, childcare and accessible public transportation, all key promises of Mamdani’s campaign. 

Karli Calo, a fourth-year philosophy and political science double major and president of the Political Science Club at Seattle University, spent her summer volunteering for Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson. Watching Mamdani’s campaign unfold, she realized that the energy fueling New York City’s race was something she could help bring to her own city.

“I do think all eyes were on New York,” Calo said. “I think that the fact [Mamdani] had such good momentum, I saw myself focusing on Seattle; I live here, I don’t live in New York City.”

The excitement around New York City’s mayoral race could be felt across the country, inspiring Calo and others to apply a similar working-class, community-focused approach to their own neighborhoods. 

Lauri Hennessey, a communications and media professor at Seattle U, the University of Washington and the University of Florida, noted that Mamdani’s success stemmed from a keen understanding of marketing and digital communication. 

“With digital storytelling being the number one way that young people are now receiving their news and information, you have to be part of it,” Hennessey said.

Comments on his Instagram posts came from people from all around the world, with many non-New Yorkers referring to Mamdani as ‘Our mayor.’ His visuals and videography used bright, clean images paired with Mamdani interacting directly with the New York City community.

Dash Tibbals is a first-year political science major at Seattle U and a member of Seattle U’s Sustainable Student Action who followed Mamdani’s campaign on social media. 

“He just talks like a normal person, and that’s hard to find. A lot of [politicians] have strong views on specific things, but it was nice to see someone talking about things overall and focusing on stuff that unites people,” Tibbals said. 

Authenticity is a word frequently used to describe Mamdani’s campaign. His approach was built on a dedication to showing up as he is, which resonated with communities and individuals across the nation.

For Yasmin Trudeau, who was elected in 2021 as Washington state’s first Muslim state senator, the draw of Mamdani’s campaign was both personal and professional. Having spent years in politics, Trudeau had felt a lack of connection among like-minded people who could provide mutual support and guidance. 

One of the aspects of Mamdani’s politics that resonates with Trudeau is his stance on the genocide in Gaza, stating that he would fulfill the ICC arrest warrant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were he to visit New York City. 

With the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza classified as a genocide by United Nations scholars, Trudeau has felt thwarted by the apparent ignorance of the calamity in American politics and media. As the first Washington state legislator to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, she is looking for people who will transparently acknowledge it with her. 

“I have really been trying to figure out how to connect with people across the state, across the country, that have felt as frustrated and as fed up with the gaslighting that’s happened in politics,” Trudeau said.

Luckily for Trudeau, those relationships have been forming, as she was introduced to California Congressman Ro Khanna, who had connections to the Mamdani campaign. The team invited Trudeau to New York City in the final days of the mayoral race, where she joined them at a Get Out The Vote event. 

“I don’t have any reason to go out to New York, I was like, let me bottle a little of that up. Let me figure out—is this real? Is this man for real? And it turns out he is,” Trudeau said.

Mamdani embraced his whole self, and his background was part of what made his campaign authentic. Whether it was playing “Dhoom Machale,” a popular Bollywood song following his victory speech, or playing with cats in a bodega, Mamdani reflected that an American doesn’t have to fit a certain mold. 

Mamdani’s success is something that most likely would not have happened even a couple of years ago. Islamophobia and racism are no strangers in the arena of politics—with Cuomo and his campaign also using fear tactics against Mamdani’s Muslim identity in this race—but Mamdani’s run for mayor as a brown Muslim man challenged all of those critiques. 

Mallak Attwa, a senior global studies major at UW and policy intern for the American Muslim Advancement Council (AMAC), emphasized that Mamdani’s success is an extremely profound and historical win. 

“The fact that he is Muslim and an immigrant is doing two things. It’s restoring hope to the Muslim immigrant community who immigrated and then were told by their parents to make as little noise as possible and to not cause any issues and kind of live in fear in this country—he’s actively rewriting that narrative,” Attwa said. 

Muslims make up at least 1.1%  of the U.S. population, and immigrants account for 15.4%, as of June 2025. While representation in government remains small, wins like Trudeau’s and Mamdani’s signal that more doors are opening for minorities to shape the country. 

Another distinguishing aspect of both Mamdani and Wilson’s campaign, noted by Hennessey and Calo, was their willingness to directly engage with critics and opponents—an uncommon practice in modern politics. 

“They work to fight against labels, and they did not seek to diminish their opponents in a way where Cuomo and Bruce Harrell, any chance that they got, would talk about why Katie Wilson and Zohran Mamdani weren’t eligible,” Calo said. “But what Katie and Zohran did is they were like, ‘I’m not here to just bash my opponent. I’m here to talk about the actual issues at hand.’”

Calo elaborated that by focusing on the policies and the real problems constituents faced, both candidates demonstrated that they listened to their communities and were committed to helping them.

While the past year has been a progressive move for American politics, the real test now comes for Mamdani and Wilson to show up in office as the people they advertised themselves to be. 

Trudeau emphasized that this transition will be hard for Mamdani, but the number one thing for him is to continue being truthful with his constituents. 

“He will have to find his place. For the rest of us, it will be to hold him accountable, but please give him grace. We have to be really realistic about our own expectations, but the accountability is for him to continue being honest, that’s it,” Trudeau said.