The Left Has Finally Uncancelled Joy

One Key To Zohran Mamdani's Upset Victory Is That He's Not A 'Sad Sack'

This week, when the final ranked-choice voting results are released, I will do my analysis of the mayoral primary election results. I’m waiting in part because I think the map may change slightly, but in key ways that could shift the narratives that have taken hold this week, once the final numbers are released. Expect that on Wednesday or Thursday.

The morning after Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, a neighbor of mine came up to me while I was outside watering my flowers before the oppressive heat New York had been experiencing took its toll on them. Upset at Mamdani’s victory, she told me she was considering selling her home and moving out of state ahead of Mamdani’s likely mayoralty and wanted to know if I could do a pricing analysis for her house. Then, she asked me what I thought of his surprise win.

As we spoke, she said something that stuck with me.

“It was nice to see a left winger who isn’t angry and bitter for once,” she said of Mamdani, noting that he was always smiling and looked like he was having fun every time she saw him on TV.

Her comments immediately reminded me of my most-read article on this site, which is about how Bernie Sanders' losses in his two presidential campaigns and society’s unwillingness to adhere to progressive ideals during the COVID-19 Pandemic left progressives feeling jilted and jaded, turning them into anti-social “sad sacks.”

Their excessive moralizing and hostile, cynical, combative, and judgmental attitude turned off voters. They allowed MAGA to capture the culture, becoming the “cool kids” who liked to have fun and break the rules. My neighbor’s comments Wednesday morning made me think that perhaps Mamdani’s campaign was an unexpected shift in that dynamic, and maybe that was a key to his success.