There are many fair questions following Zohran Mamdani’s decisive victory. Will his campaign be a template for others? Will he be able or allowed to follow through on his campaign promises? Will the Democratic establishment accept that its future could look something like this proud 34-year-old democratic socialist? But there is at least one very clear takeaway, and it’s best captured by one of the campaign’s final videos.

It opens in the Bronx, five days after the 2024 election. Mamdani is holding a microphone in one hand and a handwritten sign in the other. It says Let’s Talk Election. Most of the passersby don’t bother to talk with him; the ones who do, at least the ones included in the video, speak about why they didn’t vote (“I lost faith”) or their decision to cast a ballot for Dona

See Full Page