The Rise Of Zohran

The Indian Muslim socialist’s win in the mayoral race points towards a disturbing future

Zohran Mamdani, an open socialist and Muslim, effectively won the Democratic primary in New York’s mayoral election this week. His chief opponent, disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo, conceded to the Indian before the ranked-choice results were figured out. It’s predicted Zohran will triumph over sitting mayor Eric Adams, who’s running as an independent after being weakened by corruption scandals.

Mamdani’s upset victory has already generated a million takes and predictions. Of course, Highly Respected must share its own. There are the obvious points here. One, Zohran is barely an American. He just became a citizen in 2018. His own mother claims he’s “not American at all.” He’s also a Shia Muslim. He is very alien to Middle America. It says a lot about New York City that this is likely the next mayor.

Then there is Zohran’s politics. He’s an actual socialist. This isn’t the hyperbole conservatives used against Barack Obama. He’s a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and campaigned on an agenda of radical wealth redistribution.His campaign promised the government would deliver free stuff to the city’s residents and control the economy. He would intervene to control rent and food prices, among other idiotic ideas. He would dramatically expand social services, including promises for taxpayer-funding trans healthcare. He promises an endless series of gibs at the public expense. The only thing he vowed to not sicc the government on is crime. While Zohran no longer pledges to defund the police, his agenda was extremely soft-on-crime. If you can’t get the city to pay for it, you can always just steal it in Zohran’s New York. It’s not like there will be any punishment.

The fact Democratic voters chose someone like this speaks to the popularity of socialism among their party ranks. Democratic leaders may talk about ditching wokeness and moving to the center, but their base has other ideas. They want the anti-white socialist who’s only been a citizen for a few years.

There are unique circumstances that may be hard to recreate elsewhere. Mamdani is a charismatic, media savvy politician who ran a great campaign. Cuomo is a scandal-ridden member of the establishment who ran on a terrible message. He couldn’t excite people, while Zohran could. Mamdani might’ve lost if the establishment had picked a better candidate. Yet, Zohran still would’ve competed. His brand of socialism is popular among Democratic voters, no matter the circumstances.

Would Zohran count as an “American Chavist?” Two years ago, I warned that America would face a potent brand of leftism that combined anti-whiteness with socialist economics. Zohran fits the gist of it, but it's a bit different than I envisioned. Rather than an alpha male Hugo Chavez type leading the charge of anti-white socialism, it’s theater kids. Both Zohran and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fit this profile. Neither is a street-wise hood. They’re both nerds. Their biggest fans also seem to come from a similar background. Zohran’s strongest supporters were college-educated white Zoomer and millennials. He did alright among immigrants, but failed to get much of the black vote. Stephen Miller blamed immigration for Zohran’s ascent. It definitely was a factor considering the socialist’s own background and that of many of his voters. But he ultimately won due to white voters. His core supporters are a particular kind of young whites, as seen in this video.

The demographic most enthusiastic for American Chavism may not be the people who will most benefit from it (POC), but the people who will most suffer from it (young, urban, middle-class white people). If Zohran and AOC are the future of left-wing politics, the American Chavism theory may need to be adjusted. It’s hard to affect a non-white working-class revolution when the non-white working-class still votes for establishment Democrats.

Zohran’s win represents the growing influence of Indians in American politics. South Asians are uniquely suited for this moment. Modern American is a place that rewards shameless, charismatic bullshitters who tell people whatever they want to hear. “Heritage Americans” find this beneath them. The ones who do engage in this behavior come off as sleazy car dealers, rendering them unsuitable to win political races. They don’t like people who will flip their beliefs on a dime and be completely dishonest. It’s one of the reasons Kamala Harris lost her race.

Kamala’s fellow Indians are better at this. Take Vivek Ramaswamy, a similar character to Zohran. He’s also a charismatic and media savvy millennial. Unlike Zohran, Vivek is a conservative. However, his beliefs change depending on the situation. He’s both denounced the Great Replacement and called for more immigration. He’s been both a non-interventionist and a hawk. He’s also been a Trump hater and Trump worshipper. Whatever position he feels wins over an audience, he will adopt and brilliantly articulate it. He lacks any shame and he’s quick on his feet, which allowed him to easily fend off attacks from the media and other candidates in the 2024 primary. Nothing stuck because he could quickly bullshit his way through any discrepancy and contradiction. It was a remarkable skill.

To get ahead in modern America, one needs to be shameless. Having shame will hold one back. One can’t promise the impossible or blatantly lie with a degree of shame. Without it, you can go far in public life. Multicultural America no longer has the same standards that it did in its Anglo-Saxon days. It rewards the grifter over the honest man, bullshit over straight facts. Those who cling to the old ways struggle to make it in this new world. Indians don’t have that problem. This environment is made for them.

Zohran displayed Vivek’s bullshiter charm in his campaign, but he is different in that he is likely a genuine socialist. Mamdani’s parents are dedicated leftists themselves. But he also knows that a campaign promising free stuff will give him power. He may feel it’s necessary to abandon his beliefs to advance his political legacy as mayor. We’ll see what commitment becomes paramount when he governs the city.

Thankfully, Zohran wasn’t born here so he can’t be president. Even if he were eligible, his time as mayor will be a complete disaster if he tries to implement even a third of his campaign agenda, destroying any further political hopes he may have.

But someone else could follow his path and become the Democratic nominee in 2028. Of course, New York City is not America. But it’s still our largest city and reflects trends within the Democratic base. AOC could win the primary on Zohranism. Depending on the state of the country, it could even make her president. Then all of America would suffer under the heel of theater kid socialism.