They are saying that the Dem primary in NYC is something of a referendum on the future of our party. Huffington.....

[Dorian Gray]

8. Cuomo was a dumbass candidate

for the establishment to back.

Full disclosure: I ranked cuomo and I didn't rank mamdani, so you know where I am coming from in my upcoming rant.

1) I ranked Zellnor Myrie #1. He's our local state senate rep, and I like him. He has progressive fresh ideas and I think he would have been a good choice for the city.

Beyond him, there weren't too many others that inspired me. Stringer was my second choice.

I begrudgingly ranked Cuomo rather than Mamdani mostly bc I think Mamdani has too many "pie in the sky" campaign promises that he can't possibly keep.

Mamdani is a great communicator. He did the grass roots thing really well. And people are sick of the status quo. They like populist candidates with big personalities and promises to shake things up. (It's what's powering MAGA on the right.)

I actually think we're in a moment where AOC could beat Schumer in a primary and win.

The reality of running a city will be much more complicated than Mamdani believes. But before he gets to do that, he has to get through the next field of candidates in the general.

Adams will come in hard as an independent, flouting his record of reduced crime. (Which will be meaningful to constituents.). Adams in not popular bc of his corruption and his Trump adjacent activities, but people in communities here in the city that have seen a reduction in crime may very well happily vote for him over Mamdani.

Mamdani also will struggle with the broader Jewish population here in NYC. He needs to understand the difference between academic dissemination and PR sound bites. "Defending Globalize" the intifada may be defendable as a phrase in multiple way intellectually in an academic setting, but when it comes to running a city that has the largest jewish population outside of Israel... it's probably best to understand their POV and why it's offensive.

Okay, my rant is over. Congrats to Mamdani. The Democratic Party needs to do further self reflection. People don't want what they've been shelling out. And it's time to get ready to take on Adams the independent and Sliwa (who won't be formidable).