Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City, is important in many ways. He will be the youngest mayor of the city since 1892, the first Muslim mayor and the first African-born mayor.
He entered the race last year with next to no name recognition, little money and no institutional party support.
That alone made his victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Silde.
But more than that, he represents the kind of politician that many on the left of the Democratic Party have been looking for for years.
He is young and charismatic, which is a natural consolation for his social media generation.
His ethnicity reflects the diversity of the Party’s base. He didn’t back down from a political fight and took pride in shaming the left-wing – like free childcare and government intervention in free market systems.
Mamdani has also shown a laser-like ability to focus on the kind of economic issues that are a priority for labor voters without ever feeling the principles of the people.
But critics warn that such a candidate will not be known to wide swathes of America – and the Republicans are conducting the democratic socialist without the intelligence of the democratic party. However, on Tuesday night in New York City, he was a winner.
By running and defeating Cuomo, a New York governor who is himself the son of a governor, he has failed many on the left who are ignorant of their Party and their country.
Because of this, Mamdani’s campaign for Mayor has implemented the media, perhaps more than a municipal election, even one for the largest city in America, is appropriate.
It also means that, as mayor, his successes – and failures – are very well documented.
Twelve years ago, Democrat Bill de Blasio won his race for a platform that addresses urban and social inequalities. Like Mamdani, Americans on the left have high hopes that his administration will provide a national example of effective liberal governance.
De Blasio, however, left office eight years ago without being considered unpopular and has a mixed record of accomplishments as he struggles with the limits of his mayoral power to implement new policies.
Mamdani should be held to the same limits – and the same expectations.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat, said she opposes the tax hikes needed to fund Mamdami’s ambitious agenda.
And even with sufficient funding, Mamdani cannot implement programs unilaterally.
He camped out as a sharp critic of the corporate and business elites who call New York City their home, and make it the Capital of the world. To govern effectively, he may need to make some form of reconciliation with interests, however – a process he has begun in recent weeks.
He condemned Israel’s behavior in Gaza and promised to arrest the prime minister Ben Minister Netanyahu as a war criminal, a promise that could be tested at some points in his term in his term in his term in his term.
All those problems are for a later date, though. Now, Mamdani must put the task of defining himself on the public stage – before his rivals do.
While his campaign has generated national attention, he is still a blank slate for most Americans.
A recent CBS poll indicated that 46% of the American public followed the New York Mayoral Election “not very much”. This presents an opportunity and a challenge for Mamdani and the American left.
Conservatives from President Donald Trump Down will try to paint the newly elected mayor as a socialist menace, whose policies and priorities will bring a danger to America if there is an entire country.
They magnify every single stumbling block and highlight every negative economic indicator or crime statistic.
Trump, who has a personal connection to New York, is sure to accept a political path to Mamdani and he has many methods to complicate life for the new mayor.
He will also be forced to win over Democratic leaders, such as New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who have not yet backed his campaign.
The moment for Mamdani, however, he is not burdened by his past, that his political opponents did not succeed in not acting in relation to him in the campaign.
If he is inaugurated in January, he will have the opportunity to build his political revolution from scratch. And if Trump gets away with it, he will just give Mamdani a big platform from which to act.
His political skills and ability have gotten him this far, which is no small reason. But that was nothing compared to the trials that awaited him in the years to come.