It was 2006 and Tim Kaine had recently won the Virginia state gubernatorial election. I was meeting some officials at the Democratic Party headquarters. One of them said: “I believe that one of the lessons we should learn from Tim Kaine’s victory was that we need to talk more about our religion. Kaine did and he won. We should do it, too.”
Over the month that followed, I observed that same official on TV and at public events awkwardly and uncomfortably talking about religion. Finally, at our next meeting I decided to speak with him.
“I held back last month and didn’t challenge your observation about Tim Kaine’s victory. But I need to tell you that I don’t believe he won because he talked about religion. He won because he was authentic. Because his religion is an important part of his identity, he had to talk about it, and he did so comfortably. After listening to you over the past few weeks, it’s clear that religion isn’t an important part of your life and so when you try to force it, you sound inauthentic. Please only talk about who you are.”
I was reminded of this story after watching Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s Democratic Party primary election last week.
Over the next few days, the pundits and consultants had a field day giving self-serving explanations for his win. One, who’s been pushing the party to support young candidates to challenge its “old guard”, said: “Mamdani won because he’s young. We need more young candidates to defeat old-timers.”
A consultant, who designs messaging for poll-driven candidates, noted that Mr Mamdani’s victory is “a great example of how far you can go if you genuinely centre your campaign in an engaging way around the issue that voters overwhelmingly say, in surveys, they care the most about”.
Still others pointed to his main opponent’s record of sexual harassment, corruption and cronyism. There was also the fact that instead of relying on millions of dollars in TV ads, Mr Mamdani directly engaged with tens of thousands of voters, up close and personal. Last but not least, there were those who said that he won because of his avowedly progressive socialist agenda – calling for free public transportation, rent freezes, free child care and city-owned grocery stores in underserved areas.
While all of the above may, to varying degrees, be true, even adding all of them together would be insufficient to account for Mr Mamdani’s striking victory. The reason he won was because he was authentic and unflappable. He was comfortable in his own skin, unapologetic about his deeply held beliefs, and able to be direct and honest with media and voters with whom he engaged.
In this same vein, it was refreshing to see him field questions about statements he had made about Palestinian and Israeli rights. Most other candidates I’ve known, when put in that position, hesitate and shift uncomfortably in their seats trying to recall how their advisers told them to handle tough questions. When they respond, they offer an incoherent word salad that reeks of inauthenticity and satisfies no one.
Not so with Mr Mamdani. When questioned about his positions on Palestinian or Israeli rights, he answers directly without hesitation, neutralising the issue not with confusion, but with clarity and honesty. Look at these two quotes from his election-night victory speech.
“I promise you will not always agree with me, but I will never hide from you. If you are hurting, I will try to heal. If you feel misunderstood, I will strive to understand. Your concerns will always be mine.”
“There are millions of New Yorkers who have strong feelings about what happens overseas. Yes, I am one of them, and while I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments grounded in the demand for equality, for humanity, you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree and wrestle deeply with those disagreements.”
It is this authenticity – his “ringing true, like a bell” – that voters find most compelling, including the substantial number of Jewish voters who supported and voted for him.
During the primary election, $30 million were spent against Mr Mamdani in negative ads. He can expect that much many times over in the general election, as establishment Democrats and Republicans wage a campaign to smear, tarnish and make this young South Asian Muslim into a threat. It’s already begun on social media as Republicans and some in the pro-Israel community attempt to shape the negative narrative they will use to weaken his candidacy.
One compared his win to 9/11, saying: “After 9/11 we said, ‘Never Forget’. I think we sadly have forgotten.” Another depicted Mr Mamdani’s victory showing the Statue of Liberty shrouded in what is supposed to be a burqa. And one right-wing Jewish group tweeted that it’s time for Jews to pack up and leave New York City.
With many consultants in the Democratic Party likely to cower in the face of this onslaught, they will apply pressure on Mr Mamdani and try to convince him to tamp down his progressive agenda and back off his support for Palestinians. They will want to neuter him by inviting him to “join the fold” of consultant-driven, mush-mouthed politicians. But they don’t understand that if he were to succumb to this pressure, he would lose the very quality that energised young and progressive voters and decisively won this primary election – his authenticity.
Mr Mamdani has no need for their “expertise” and I suspect that, despite his youth, he is well aware that being true to himself and honest with the voters will continue to be his path to victory.
