If you're normal, people will vote for you actually

As Ryan says, you are going to see a lot of Takes about why Mamdani won, but I think he has hit on the fundamental truth of why: Mamdani is a normal guy who cares about the same things his constituency does and talked about them like a normal person. This was especially striking in the NYC mayoral race because Cuomo--a lifetime politician steeped in the deep weirdness of corrupt politics in general and corrupt NY politics in particular, along with bring a full-on creep--is not a normal person, he's not even close. Cuomo's capability to talk like a normal person or level normal opposing ideas about his opponents is nil.

I hope more people take Mamdani's lead here. Let a million roses bloom.

Do you think podcast hits helped a socialist win over a third of Staten Island? Be fucking serious right now lmao. Mamdani also didn't really align himself with big donors or even push a big influencer campaign. Most of the celebrities — and even the local podcasters that endorsed him — didn't get involved until the day of the primary.

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But Democrats have embraced social media. They over-index it actually. They’re also shit at it. And Mamdani’s big viral moments weren’t really even all that big. He did a cute video about how expensive Halal trucks are now. Another buzzy video where he spoke Bangla. And his biggest video was one documenting his walk across the island of Manhattan. None of these are Brat Summer. They’re, again, just a guy being normal and talking about policy in a way other normal people can understand. And this is not meant to downplay Mamdani’s team. Even they have said they didn’t really do anything all that revolutionary. “The same skills you have that help sell toothpaste, fast food, or kitchen appliances can easily be applied to a political life,” Mamdani video producers Anthony DiMieri and Debbie Saslaw told social media analyst Rachel Karten. “But all of us can use our time and our talents to fight for something like a $30 minimum wage and potentially change the lives of millions of people in the process.”

And Chapo Trap House’s Felix Biederman put all this best, writing, “He never condescended. He did not dumb things down into meaninglessness, do shallowly self deprecating ‘I’m uncool but doing a TikTok meme’ hits, or any of the billion other things voters find nauseating. He demonstrated real trust!” (He, also, it should be noted, did not throw trans people under the bus.)

So expect to hear a million reasons why Mamdani won today and what it means for Democrats across the country going forward, but, from where I’m sitting, it’s pretty simple. Social media does not turn a bad candidate into a viable one. It’s just amplification. And the same platforms that can amplify the ugliness and hatred and resentment of someone like Trump can amplify the joy and earnestness and seemingly genuine conviction of a candidate like Mamdani.