Shortly after 10:30 PM last night, less than two hours after the polls closed in New York City, the crowd at LGBTQ night club 9 Bob Note broke into screams, cheers, and tears. Disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo had just conceded to state assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani’s upset was stunning. Even optimistic supporters of the democratic socialist thought he would only pull through in the later rounds of ranked choice voting. But Mamdani quickly emerged as the clear frontrunner. How did the 33-year-old Muslim candidate opposed by The New York Times and tens of millions of Super PAC spending do it?

Contrary to what a lot of people in the Democratic establishment have suggested post-2024, Mamdani won because he is further left than most leaders in his party. Rather than try to copy Donald Trump’s rhetoric, Mamdani stayed true to his leftist principles. They proved to be incredibly popular—and not just in New York City. Mamdani has enthusiastic supporters around the country and the world, ones he reached through a booming social media presence that inspired people to campaign authentically on his behalf for free.

New Yorkers aren’t scared of socialism. We’re scared of the unchecked capitalism that has failed everyday people. New Yorkers aren’t scared of Muslim people. We said no to racist, Islamophobic propaganda that tried to turn us against our neighbors.

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Mamdani’s opponents tried to smear him as antisemitic for standing up for the rights of Palestinian people. There is nothing antisemitic about that. And while establishment Democrats have continued to support the U.S. funding Israel, that position is increasingly unpopular.

As it became clear that Mamdani was a real challenger against Cuomo, pro-Israel fearmongering has suggested that Jewish people will be in danger under Mamdani’s leadership. In reality, Mamdani takes antisemitism seriously and acknowledges the rising threat to Jewish New Yorkers. He has proposed a Department of Community Safety with an 800% increase in funding for anti-hate crime programming. And many Jewish New Yorkers ranked Mamdani, including NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who cross-endorsed with him and celebrated his win.

Other attacks on Mamdani focused on his youth and relative lack of experience. But a lot of voters see this as a good thing, especially compared to Cuomo, whose track record included on-the-job sexual harassment allegations from 13 women. For a lot of people, that alone is disqualifying. While in office, Cuomo also covered up the number of nursing home deaths from Covid-19, redirected MTA funding to state-run ski resorts (among cutting other funds including to schools and a rental assistance program), and was a relentless bully. There’s a reason why “Don’t rank Cuomo” caught on as a powerful campaign slogan for multiple of his opponents.

In contrast, Mamdani’s policy proposals centered around affordability and disrupting the status quo. He seeks to tax the ultra-wealthy instead of currying favor with them. Rent freezes, free buses, universal childcare, and yes, even government-run grocery stores offer relief to the people living in one of the most expensive cities in the country. And while other Democrats are willing to throw their most vulnerable constituents under the bus, Mamdani proudly supports trans rights and trans healthcare. Even if people don’t agree with him on everything, Mamdani comes across as someone who honestly believes in what he purports to stand for. People clearly prefer that kind of politician over one who nervously consults the latest polling to form their opinions.

The message that a lot of people are taking from Mamdani’s win is just that he did well because he succeeded on social media. But that’s not the whole story! His success on social media is because of what he believes in. That’s the difference between having a viral video and building a diverse grassroots coalition of over 30,000 supporters who are energized enough to knock on over 1 million doors. It doesn’t hurt that he’s always smiling and looks good doing it.

The impact of Mamdani’s massive ground operations was tangible. In the heart of Bushwick, where I live, I had canvassers at my door for the first time ever. At 9 Bob Note, a club I’ve been to many times, I’ve never seen it as packed or as jubilant as when Mamdani won. After nearly a decade of Trump looming over national politics and underwhelming, ineffective efforts from Democrats to combat him, this gave New Yorkers a reason to celebrate.

Queer media for the short-form video era

One of many viral videos featuring Mamdani during his mayoral primary campaign was an interview on Gaydar, a short-form video show from Mutuals Media. This format has become increasingly popular on social media, giving viewers a sense of episodic continuity in what they’re watching (like TV for TikTok). A post on X yesterday with nearly 2 million views said “Zohran would’ve gotten my vote on this alone.”

This is a good example of why it’s not just being on social media that matters, but also using it to convey progressive policies. Mamdani has a cute moment where he name drops a lesbian bar in NYC but he also conveys his platform and condemns the Trump administration’s erasure of trans people on government websites.

@gaydar.show

@Zohran Mamdani let us know about that press secretary job 💚 feat: Zohran Mamdani host: @𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙽𝙸𝙰 created by: @Mutuals & @Amelia shot by... See more

Gaydar queers the classic man-on-the-street interview, featuring both everyday people and celebrities like Chappell Roan and Reneé Rapp. During the minutes-long episodes, playful and jovial host Anania asks questions about LGBTQ culture ranging from “Who threw the first brick at Stonewall” to “Does this person look gay to you?” At the end, Anania relies on her own gaydar to guess whether her guest is gay, straight, or a homophobe. Gaydar launched just under a year ago, but it has already racked up more than 400,000 TikTok followers and episodes frequently get millions of views.

Spitfire News can exclusively share that the next Gaydar guest will be Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who touts the state’s LGBTQ protections and culture. This kind of short-form media has become a pit stop for politicians and celebrities, not unlike how Sunday morning broadcast news shows or YouTube series like Hot Ones have been integrated into their usual lineup.

And before I sign off, here are a couple other cool things queer people are making:

• Evan Greer, who I’ve covered as the trans digital rights activist directing Fight for the Future (and who confronted Nancy Mace at a tech summit over her transphobia), has an album coming out in September that she dropped a single ft. Eve 6 for today!

• Amber Heard (who is bisexual, if you didn’t know) will appear in a new Jeremy O. Harris play next month called Spirit of the People. It’s part of the Williamstown Theatre Festival. I’m so happy for her!

Thanks for reading this far and until next time.