What can the Democrats learn from the New York Mayoral Primary?

This week, a Democratic star was born. Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim lawmaker from Queens, entered the New York Mayoral Primary with little name recognition, no establishment backing, and views well to the left of most of the Democratic Party. On Tuesday night, he emerged as the Democratic nominee, with Andrew Cuomo conceding the race.

The race grabbed attention. Some of it was due to Mamdani’s exceptional social media campaign, but most of it came from what the race revealed about the Democratic Party. That it is divided. And lost.

Only a third of U.S. voters have a positive view of the Democratic Party. Just 10% think the party has any effective strategy for dealing with Trump. Even allowing for the usual post-defeat soul-searching, these numbers are pretty catastrophic.

Now, a New York mayoral primary isn’t a national bellwether. But the race did highlight a few major issues that the Democrats need to confront if they want a chance of beating Trump in 2028.

Firstly, the Democrats need to break their habit of recycling the same old playbook and the same old names.

Mamdani ran a proudly left-wing campaign. He backed rent freezes, free public buses, city-owned grocery stores, universal childcare for under-fives, funded by a wealth tax on New York’s one percent. He also was unapologetic in his support of Palestine and anti-Zionism – a position which drew criticism for anti-seminism. His platform was miles to the left of where the party leadership has ever dared to go.

That doesn’t mean these ideas will fly nationally. Or that these ideas will even work in practice in New York City. But what it does show is that voters are looking for ambition, vision, and values, not reheated centrism.

Cuomo’s campaign was a reminder of exactly what is wrong. A disgraced former governor, running a rehabilitation campaign after after sexual harassment allegations and a scandal over nursing home deaths during the pandemic. His campaign wasn’t inspiring, it was predictable. The Democratic establishment endorsement of him shows that they default to familiarity over freshness and that instinct is killing them.

Just look at how they’ve handled party leadership. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most recognisable Democrats in the country, was passed over for the House Oversight Committee in favour of 74-year-old Gerry Connolly. That appointment came courtesy of establishment figure Nancy Pelosi. Connolly died shortly after being appointed. 

Meanwhile, David Hogg was forced out of the Democratic National Committee for saying that the party should consider supporting primary challenges in safe seats. Not exactly a radical idea if your goal is to energise the base. But within today’s party machinery, even minor calls for generational change are treated as threats. 

And that brings us to the second lesson: the Democrats desperately need new energy. Mamdani didn’t just offer new ideas. He represented a different kind of campaign altogether. Mamdani showed what politics can look like when the candidate is young enough to campaign on foot. He literally walked the length of Manhattan in a day.

He met people where they were. On the street. In their neighbourhoods. On their phones. His social media strategy was sharp. His podcast appearances reached new audiences. His campaign had the kind of energy most Democrats haven’t seen since 2008. And it showed, with nearly a quarter of the early vote coming from first-time voters. 

Cuomo, in contrast, was barely visible. He ducked media appearances and stuck to a tired, donor-focused playbook. It didn’t work and it shouldn’t have.

So no, this wasn’t a fluke. 

This was a reminder that energy, authenticity, and new ideas still matter in politics. That money isn’t everything. That voters don’t want more of the same. And that the Democrats can’t beat Trump by running the same playbook and expecting different results. 

If the party wants to survive, let alone win, it should start taking notes.

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Trafalgar Strategy is a strategic communications consultancy operating at the intersection of politics, business, and the media.