On November 4th, Zohran Mamdani achieved what seemed impossible: he became the first democratic socialist, Muslim, and immigrant politician elected to be mayor of New York City. He hauled in more than one million votes out of the more than two million votes cast—the most since 1969. In doing so, he toppled the Cuomo political dynasty and expanded the electorate through an army of over 100,000 volunteer canvassers that bypassed traditional power brokers and knocked on over 3 million doors. The focus on grassroots support represented a rejection of the failing strategies that have cost Democrats to lose countless elections in recent years.
But, Mamdani broke with the political common sense that has ruled the city for decades in more ways than one. His campaign rejected the idea that only voters who have cast ballots in the last three primaries—so-called triple prime voters—are worth reaching out to, a strategy that often overlooks the city’s Black, South Asian, Latino, low-income, and young voters. These very demographics, in the end, were crucial to Mamdani’s victory.
Much has been written about Mamdani’s outreach to Black communities and the crucial role of South Asian voters. Less, however, has been written about Mamdani’s massive success with the city’s Latino population, a group whose frustration with the status quo saw an unprecedented number vote for Donald Trump in 2024—leading pollsters to conclude that running away from the “socialist” tag and proposing conservative social policies was the only way to win their support. Mamdani’s success shows that progressive policies can—and did—work in securing the support of the city’s Latino population, a result with ramifications that may well stretch far beyond New York City.
A Diverse Community
Progressive politicians in New York City have traditionally struggled to whip up support from Latino and Black communities, who have tended to back moderate candidates with high name recognition. When it comes to the city’s Latino community, the matter is complicated by the fractured nature of the electorate.
“It’s pretty hard to just call it a Latino community. It’s about 100 different communities under one umbrella,” said J.C. Polanco, a lawyer and political analyst of Dominican-descent “You have a really interesting rainbow of old immigrants, new immigrants, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Hondurans—they all have a different perspective.”
Nationally, the “Latino vote” is often used as a cudgel to advance more conservative social policies within the Democratic Party—deemed by critics as too “woke” for using terms like “Latinx” and defending trans rights. Fears of Florida’s powerful Hispanic community often inform national debates of Latinos who, fearing the communism that they blame for “destroying their countries,” reject policies that can in any way be denounced as “socialist.”
Mamdani, a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), did not shy away from betting big on Latino voters early on.
Nevertheless, Mamdani, a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), did not shy away from betting big on Latino voters early on.
“I’m doing my best to speak Spanish, and, without a doubt, Spanish is kicking my butt,” Mamdani said in a Spanish-language campaign video that highlighted his immigrant background. The April ad also listed out his proposals: fast and free buses, rent freezes and creating the Department of Public Safety to combat crime.
Spanish campaign materials and bilingual canvassers followed, as did the endorsement of notable leaders like Rep. Nydia Velázquez and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.
Mamdani went a step further than securing the support of key figureheads—the only real strategy of his rival, Andrew Cuomo, who relied on name recognition and endorsements from key moderate and conservative Latino politicians. Mamdani assembled a team of volunteers who fanned across the city to spread his message. In the city’s majority-Latino neighborhoods, these volunteers often took to canvassing for the first time, inspired by his policies and clear moral vision.
The Volunteers
The campaign’s success cannot be separated from the multilingual volunteers that canvassed for Mamdani and connected voters to a broader political movement.
“I would tell them in Spanish, ‘Hey, I’m from the neighborhood. I was born and raised here too. I’m Dominican,’” said Ashley Luciano, a field lead for Washington Heights. Luciano’s story mirrors that of many who got involved because of Mamdani’s past participation in progressive campaigns like the 2021 hunger-strike for indebted taxi drivers. “This is a guy who actually cares about the working class, who isn’t going to listen to billionaires,” said Luciano. “His whole thing was: ‘I want a truly grassroots movement.’”
In Luciano’s neighborhood, canvassers reported that Mamdani’s promise of a rent freeze was crucial to gaining support. In other predominantly Latino enclaves of the city—as in neighborhoods in the Bronx—the fast and free buses drew people’s attention. Affordability tied the appeal all together, though getting out the campaign’s message was difficult—especially in neighborhoods taken as a safe bet for Cuomo.
“The numbers for the Bronx were really depressing. Overwhelmingly for Cuomo, which we weren’t expecting,” said Caroline Abreu, a field lead for the Bronx. But, knocking doors helped swing the borough. “I think Zohran’s message did a lot of the work for us and the canvassing definitely helped.”
Ana María Archila, co-director of Make the Road and the Working Families Party, echoed this sentiment. “I’ve seen people who were very frustrated as Democrats and voted for Trump, and now they’re supporting Zohran because he is making them very concrete proposals: he’s going to lower the cost of rent, the cost of food, the cost of transportation, and childcare—these are essential things,” she said. “Telling people that the problems they’re facing aren’t problems without solutions is important.”
Results in the Bronx showed that the campaign’s efforts had borne fruit. Mamdani won Hispanic-majority districts that had previously gone for Cuomo by ten points.
A Positive Vision
Mamdani’s campaign improved with Latinos across the city from the primary to the general election. In June, he won Hispanic-majority districts by 8 points over Cuomo and in November he trounced Cuomo by 20 percent in those districts.
Many Hispanic voters who had voted for Trump also backed Mamdani’s message. In Hispanic-majority districts where 40 percent or more of voters opted for Trump—such as Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst in Queens—-Mamdani beat Cuomo by 9 points.
Many Hispanic voters who had voted for Trump also backed Mamdani’s message.
According to Estefania Galvis, an organizer and DSA member “It wasn’t just the doors that were knocked on, but the communities that were formed in that process.” Galvis argued that, the only way you can change the way someone else is interacting with the campaign, is interacting with the world and the community they’re seeing.”
Central to the creation of these spaces was the offering of a different vision of politics to communities long targeted with messages of impending doom.
The campaign met working-class New Yorkers where they were at: the New York City Marathon, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, mosques, churches, and while walking from the entire length of Manhattan. They held scavenger hunts, hosted a soccer tournament, and drew nearly 13,000 people for his closing rally.
“We are moving away from the politics of fear to the politics of hope to the politics of change, and that means one has to make certain decisions about how one navigates the political environment,” said Estefania Galvis.
The Specter of ICE
A key component of Mamdani’s commitment to a positive vision of politics has been his steadfast rejection of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) increasingly fascist deportations. Indeed, central to Mamdani’s pitch was a vow to defend the city’s vulnerable from ICE, which he rooted in his own experience as an immigrant.
In March, Mamdani confronted Trump “border czar” Tom Homan as he visited the Albany statehouse to push for ending New York’s sanctuary policies. “How many more New Yorkers will you detain? How many more New Yorkers without charge? Do you believe in the First Amendment, Tom Homan?” Mamdani yelled at Homan.
A key component of Mamdani’s commitment to a positive vision of politics has been his steadfast rejection of ICE’s increasingly fascist deportations
Mamdani also attacked Trump’s deportations directly during the mayoral debates, vowing to “fight him every step of the way.”
In his victory speech, he again directly confronted Trump, invoking solidarity between New Yorkers.
“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: ‘Turn the volume up,’” he said. “New York will remain a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and—as of tonight—led by an immigrant. So hear me, President Trump, when I say this. To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
Paradoxically, his willingness to confront Trump—and to put up a good show while doing it—has garnered him sympathy and respect from the president, as demonstrated by their recent meeting at the White House. There, Trump heaped praise on Mamdani’s agenda and defended him from hard press questions about his previous criticisms of the president.
Even still, Homan has threatened to send more ICE troops to the city and raids have continued.
Mamdani has pledged to direct the New York City Police Department to hold ICE officers accountable if they break the law. This marks a stark departure from Mayor Eric Adams, who collaborated with Homan on immigration enforcement—even attempting to open an ICE office in Riker’s Island—in exchange for the Trump administration tossing out corruption charges against him.
“Our Struggles are Connected”
It remains to be seen if Mamdani will keep up his promises to the Latino community. A mere 48 hours after his win, he landed in Puerto Rico for the Somos conference— an event notorious for allowing politicians to party as islanders deal with the wreckage brought by hurricanes.
“No matter where we’re at, the message is the same: Here we say ‘Puerto Rico no se vende,’ and in New York City we say ‘Nueva York no se vende.’ It’s the same struggle for working people,’” he said, referencing a popular anti-colonial slogan.
Mamdani is already breaking the mold. He visited the often ignored Puerto Rican Muslim community at the Centro Islámico del Caribe in Caimito, a rapidly gentrifying barrio on the outskirts of San Juan. Flanked by Palestinian flags, he spoke once again of his mission to lower the cost of living and reasserted his support for Puerto Rico.
“I will tell you that Puerto Ricans have the right to self-determination and whatever decision they make is one that I would support. At the moment, I see Puerto Ricans, from New York’s point of view, as part of the same story,” he said.
Puerto Rico is facing its own affordability crisis due to displacement caused by millionaires moving to the archipelago and taking advantage of tax breaks. Many of these same issues are affecting the city’s predominantly Latino communities that, though supportive of his campaign, are in desperate need of Mamdani to deliver on his promises. Whether he will be able to hold his disparate coalition together to transform New York into a city Latinos can afford will be the challenge of a political lifetime.
Cris Seda Chabrier is a bilingual reporter and photojournalist whose work has appeared in local and national outlets in both Puerto Rico and the United States.