So, Zohran Mamdani just won the NYC Democratic primary for mayor. Big news. For many progressives and leftists, this feels like a huge moment — the kind of political shift we’ve been dreaming of for years. A DSA-endorsed, anti-Zionist, tenant-first candidate beating out a well-known establishment figure like Andrew Cuomo? That’s not nothing.
But here’s the thing: I’m not celebrating. Not yet.
This might sound like I’m raining on the parade, but I think it’s time we stop falling for the cycle of hope and betrayal that’s become all too familiar on the left.
We’ve seen it before. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came in blazing. Medicare for All, Green New Deal, accountability for the rich and powerful. But once she got to D.C.? The fire dimmed. She played nice with leadership, voted for bloated military budgets, and seemed more focused on appeasing the party establishment than challenging it.
Then there’s John Fetterman. He campaigned as a working-class champion, an outsider with progressive values. But after winning? He did a full 180 on Gaza, embraced a hawkish pro-Israel stance, cozied up to right-leaning narratives, and threw progressives under the bus. That betrayal was swift and brutal.
And let’s not forget the rest of “The Squad.” Once a promising block of dissent within the Democratic Party, they’ve largely become performative voices with little to show in terms of meaningful policy wins. When push comes to shove, they vote with the party, not the people.
So forgive me if I don’t buy into the hype around Mamdani — even if I admire his platform. Rent justice. Defunding NYPD. Public power. All great ideas. But the real test isn’t what he says before the election — it’s what he does after he wins (if he wins at all).
Because once you’re in office, the system doesn’t bend to your ideals. You bend to it. And if Mamdani doesn’t resist the immense pressure to “moderate,” to “unify,” to “be realistic,” then we’ll just have another charismatic figure saying the right things on Twitter while the material conditions of New Yorkers continue to rot.
This isn’t pessimism — it’s pattern recognition.
We need to stop treating electoral wins as endpoints. Mamdani’s primary win isn’t a revolution — it’s a door slightly ajar. And we’d be fools to think that what comes next won’t be the same disillusionment we’ve seen over and over again.
So yes, keep your eyes open. Organize. Watch closely. But don’t celebrate like we’ve won something yet. We haven’t. And history has shown us time and time again: charisma fades, but class betrayal endures.