As Zohran Mamdani greeted supporters following his upset victory over Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary in June , the chants erupting around him weren't about pragmatism or compromise—they were about housing, justice and revenge against a system he said had failed ordinary people.

"This wasn't just a primary," Mamdani told the crowd. "This was a referendum on a crumbling status quo."

The 33-year-old democratic socialist's victory wasn't just a local surprise ; it symbolizes a broader political shift. Across the nation, more voters—urban and rural, working-class and professional—are rejecting technocratic centrism in favor of leaders who promise to fight, not finesse.

For decades, "moderation" in U.S. politics was synonymous with stability. The Reagan era

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