Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral election win: Why did it matter?

Zohran Mamdani’s victory night speech referenced a quote by former New York governor Mario Cuomo, the father of his rival Andrew Cuomo, that he campaigns in poetry but should govern in prose, and he seemed determined to take advantage of this last chance at the poetic. It was Mamdani big and wideHe said: “After many years, our only regret will be that this day took so long.”

He made the most obvious point that, for many people, such a victory should not be possible:

After all, conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from a perfect candidate.