[Column] Placing the ‘demos’ again in democracy

By Lee Jin-sun, adjunct professor at Sungkonghoe College

Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York Metropolis. Mamdani’s path is unconventional and provocative: he advocates for larger taxes on the rich within the coronary heart of American monetary capital; calls for an finish to the genocide in Gaza in a Jewish-majority district; and unapologetically embraces his Muslim identification in a metropolis that was the goal of the Sept. 11 terrorist assaults. 

Conservative media have portrayed Mamdani as an “extremist,” “champagne socialist,” and proponent of “free welfare populism,” asserting that his administration won’t be able to apply what it preaches. US President Donald Trump has derided Mamdani and known as him a “communist” whereas going as far as to trace at freezing federal funds for New York Metropolis and deploying navy forces. It’s clear that Mamdani’s election as mayor poses a symbolic menace to Trump and the far proper.

Nonetheless, there’s a extra essential level that should not be neglected when analyzing Mamdani’s rise. From the outset, this election was much less a contest between Democrats and Republicans and extra a battle between the previous guard of the Democratic Celebration and its progressive wing. 

New York Metropolis is a Democratic stronghold. Within the 2024 presidential election, Kamala Harris received 68% of the vote in New York Metropolis whereas Trump pulled in solely 30% in his residence turf. Mamdani’s foremost competitor on this New York Metropolis mayoral race was not Republican Curtis Sliwa, who obtained 7.1% of the vote, however Andrew Cuomo, who misplaced the Democratic major and ran as an unbiased, solely to lose the election as he secured simply 41.6% of the vote. 

Andrew Cuomo is a three-term former governor of New York and a mainstream Democratic politician. He resigned from his publish in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment involving 11 ladies, together with former and present aides, but remained essentially the most outstanding Democratic mayoral candidate till early final yr.

Why did New Yorkers forged their votes for the younger State Meeting member Mamdani reasonably than Cuomo, the seasoned politician? “Hip” social media campaigns that included pictures of Mamdani leaping into the ocean and working marathons, a visible technique that emphasised boldness and approachability, and backlash towards Trump alone can’t absolutely clarify Mamdani’s overwhelming victory towards Cuomo. In a Guardian column, Ben Davis argues that Mamdani’s victory was pushed by his mobilization of non-voters.

Certainly, voter turnout on this election was unusually excessive. Whereas 1.1 million individuals participated within the final mayoral election, over 2 million voted this time, and over 1 million of them went to the poll field for Mamdani. This marks the very best voter turnout since 1969. 

Amongst those that mentioned it was their first time voting, 65% forged their ballots for Mamdani. Mamdani obtained overwhelming assist from youthful voters specifically. A full 75% of voters within the age bracket of 18 to 29 forged their vote for Mamdani versus 19% for Cuomo; for voters aged 30 to 44, the breakdown was 65% for Mamdani and 30% for Cuomo. 

That is important when in comparison with the 2024 presidential election CNN exit polls, the place Harris’ and Trump’s vote shares in the identical age teams had been 54% to 43% and 51% to 47%, respectively. 

Crucial problem for voters on this New York election was “value of residing,” which 55% of survey respondents named as their high concern. Amongst these respondents, 66% voted for Mamdani, and solely 29% voted for Cuomo. In juxtaposition, through the 2024 presidential election, 81% of voters who mentioned “the financial system” was their major concern forged their poll for Trump.

If responding to the calls for of nearly all of wage employees who usually are not owners by way of coverage is populism, then populism politics should change into. Mamdani championed hire freezes, free buses, and public little one care as a result of he met with numerous citizenry throughout celebration strains and listened to voices on the bottom. He delivers a crushing blow to the Democratic Celebration’s mainstream, which has been preoccupied with company sponsors and strain from the rich, and uncared for to supply substantive insurance policies for employees and odd residents.

In his victory speech, Mamdani acknowledged, “If tonight teaches us something, it’s that conference has held us again. We’ve got bowed on the altar of warning, and we’ve paid a mighty worth. Too many working individuals can’t acknowledge themselves in our celebration, and too many amongst us have turned to the correct for solutions to why they’ve been left behind. We are going to go away mediocrity in our previous. Now not will we’ve to open a historical past ebook for proof that Democrats can dare to be nice.”

The extremists usually are not Mamdani nor the individuals who supported him. What’s excessive is our actuality: an period the place monetary capital and landlords wield limitless energy, occasions wherein exhausting work alone can’t forestall a declining high quality of life. With out politics that radically shift the paradigm, we can’t apply democracy that places the individuals first. Mamdani’s emergence is a wake-up name for democracies wherein the “demos” has vanished. 

In Korea’s political panorama, too, each election season brings similar guarantees from each ruling and opposition events: constructing airports, reducing taxes, stress-free redevelopment necessities. I can’t fathom why Korea’s Democrats are celebrating Mamdani’s victory as if they’re something like him.

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