Zohran Mamdani has won the race for New York City mayor, according to Decision Desk HQ, ushering in a new era of progressive politics in the city and reigniting the debate over the Democratic Party’s future.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is poised to become the first millennial and first Muslim to lead New York City, after a campaign that pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in recent memory. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who mounted a long-shot independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in his bid to succeed Mayor Eric Adams.

Mamdani focused heavily on affordability, pledging to freeze rent, establish city-owned grocery stores and make buses free for riders. He quickly became a progressive icon as well as a polarizing figure within the party over his positions, so much so that it divided prominent New York Democratic leadership over whether to endorse him.

  • Frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    4 hours ago

    Truth is that this sort of thing has worked out for them before. Trump would not be in office right now if he wasn’t bankrolled by Musk and Thiel. There were reports in early 2024 that the GOP was basically broke.

    A few million to a campaign can be converted into billions of tax benefits. Just think of how much they got out of the Trump tax credits from the first term. Pile on top of that cases where they get sweet government contracts (like Palantir). It’s all a direct shift of money from the working class and into capitalists with the government as an intermediary.

    Which is to say that, yes, it is good investment for them. They can afford to miss a few sometimes. Generally, they play the game to win more than they lose. If you win every time, it’s actually an Enron-style red flag.