Zohran Mamdani’s victory as the mayor-elect of New York City was a significant political achievement. He overcame many obstacles to become both the first Muslim and the first openly socialist politician to lead the nation’s most capitalist city.
The victory was not a mandate. In the three-way race to the top, the young councilman with no executive experience won a slight majority of 50.4% of the vote. In addition, he ran against Andrew Cuomo, a scandal-ridden party man with little attraction.
A Damaged Brand
The biggest obstacle to victory was overcoming the damaged socialist brand. Most Americans strongly oppose socialism and believe it does not work. To win the election, Mamdani had to change people’s ingrained opinions and mentalities.
Mamdani won because he put to good use specific leftist tactics that allowed him to change mentalities. Above all, he managed to win over many in the uncommitted middle to his cause.
In his book, Unperceived Ideological Transshipment and Dialogue, Catholic thinker Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira outlines seven steps by which Marxist leaders have overcome people’s massive resistance to socialism and communism.
These tactics especially apply to the common people and particularly to the indifferent majority. Without convincing them, it is impossible to win an election.
The use of these seven steps was evident in the New York City 2025 elections. Thus, an analysis of how Mamdani followed these steps to win the election is in order.
- Finding Points of Affinity: Corrêa de Oliveira begins with his first point: how the left must find points of affinity that resonate with the indifferent majority. These issues usually have nothing to do with class struggle, property confiscation or other topics that Marxists commonly impose. Ideally, these points should address daily life struggles that everyone can identify with.
Candidate Mamdani found excellent points of affinity with non-socialist issues that resonated with most New Yorkers. He refined his message to a few easy-to-remember points that he never stopped hammering home: free childcare, free and fast buses, a rent freeze and affordable food prices. He relentlessly kept these issues front and center in his campaign.
- Overemphasize points of affinity. This step involves taking the ordinary points of affinity and amplifying, weaponizing and personalizing them. Issues that have always existed, such as high rents, can suddenly become crises with a sense of urgency that demand immediate action.
Indeed, the Mamdani campaign was masterful in overemphasizing these points of affinity. He turned the increasingly high cost of living into an affordability crisis. He demanded fast, free tansport for poor people, replacing the slow, expensive buses. He managed to fill his message with passion, emotion and urgency.
- Deemphasize adhesion to a hostile ideology. By overemphasizing points of affinity, the left must then deemphasize its strong bonds to socialist ideology. The party must not define its philosophy, keeping it vague and unknown. When necessary, ties with controversial parties or platforms must be denied. Everything must be done to soften and hide the hard Marxist message and brand.
The Mamdani campaign also excelled in this step. He insists that he is a democratic socialist, a category that defies definition. When asked if he was a communist, he replied, “I am not.” When confronted about the official platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, he distanced himself from many of its more radical planks. He claimed that he no longer supported defunding the police. Everything was done to keep the debate in the realm of the points of affinity and away from sticky ideological issues.
- Create sympathy for hostile leaders and militants. The left must humanize its message by creating sympathy for its leaders and activists. It must present them as peaceful and non-radical. The people must be made to feel that they have nothing to fear from those involved, despite their socialist label.
The Mamdani campaign presented its allies as friends in the united effort to make New York better. He put to rest fears of electing a Muslim candidate by presenting the Muslims as victims who help build up the city, yet who are spat upon by Islamophobes. Socialist figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were portrayed positively as promoting the interests of the working class in the city.
- Seek cooperation to achieve common goals. The goal of the left is to always point to the advantages of working together to reinforce the points of affinity. It seeks to stress the need for urgent action, calling for putting aside ideological differences and staying laser-focused on solving the crisis, whether created or inflated.
The Mamdani campaign succeeded in presenting the crisis with urgency, thereby justifying collaboration despite all differences. He summarized his political philosophy as one where the average New Yorker will pay less rent. He managed to convince Jews, businessmen and others that unless something is done, New York will not survive.
“New Yorkers love this city,” said Comptroller Brad Lander, who endorsed Mamdani, “but they can’t afford to stay here.”
Mamdani’s message was one of common goals. He projected himself as someone who could pull New York out of its present hellscape.
- Reinforce the conviction that new principles have more in common with one’s goals than old principles. With everyone working together for common goals, this next step seeks to convince the public that the new principles needed to implement the new programs trump their old principles. The public may still hold on to some of its old tenets, but these are much less important now. The new principles address the urgency of the moment.
The Mamdani campaign created excitement around the new principles that will address the weaponized points of affinity. He managed to overcome the ancient prejudices and open the public to new ideas. Despite his anti-Israel sentiments, for example, he secured the endorsement of Jewish groups. He also presented his new ideas for the Democratic Party as better than the decrepit Democratic Party establishment.
- The mindset has changed, and only secondary obstacles remain. The final step is completing the mental change process. The people trapped in the maneuver now adhere to the new program without realizing the extent of the change to their ideas. The only resistance left is some reservations. However, these points are secondary and do not block the impulse of the primary principles.
The Mamdani campaign won the elections because it followed these seven steps. However, it should be noted that it secured only a bare majority.
Secondary obstacles remain, including reservations about Mamdani’s socialist ideas, his pro-Palestinian leanings, his inexperience, and his views on crime and other issues.
The Battle Continues
The battle is far from over. Half of the electorate still resists the questionable charms of the mayor-elect. Among those who voted for him, those from the indifferent majority with anti-socialist tendencies became mere sympathizers. They are not fervent supporters. Among those who did not vote for him, the threat of a mass exodus is real. It will remove valuable talent and revenue from the city.
To continue his program, Zohran Mamdani will need to employ these steps constantly. The more he implements his socialist agenda, the more difficult this will be. He will necessarily have to take radical steps that will shock the public.
The best way to oppose his regime is to unmask these maneuvers that change people’s mentalities and Mamdani’s true goals. The opposition must never fail to stress the socialist doctrine behind his actions and how this evil philosophy of egalitarianism and vulgarity will destroy the city.
© & Photo Credit: InformedImages, CC BY 4.0