Everyone’s a political pundit these days – there’s a lot to talk about.
After Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary by 12 points in June, people rushed to frame it as a victory for democratic socialism nationwide.
One of these voices was Kat Abughazaleh, one of more than 10 candidates for Illinois’s 9th Congressional seat. A former D.C.-based content creator, the 26-year-old wrote on her Instagram with more than 100,000 followers, “Zohran Mamdani’s victory wasn’t a one-off for progressives.”
Yet, I attribute Mamdani’s victory not only to his policies, but to his ability to demonstrate both that he was a part of the community and that he would be a better choice than his opponent, Andrew Cuomo. Consequently, these specific circumstances mean not all political hopefuls can win merely using Mamdani’s policy or social-media playbook.
I would also like to note that this is not my Mamdani endorsement, but rather my explanation of what helped him win and why Abughazaleh isn’t poised to replicate his victory.
First, I don’t think Mamdani’s success was an expression for a newfound love of socialism as much as it was a referendum of Cuomo, the former governor of New York. Cuomo made this an easy task for Mamdani.
“I have never had to resign in disgrace,” Mamdani said to Cuomo in a June debate. “I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA. I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo.”
Mamdani also demonstrated himself to be a much more integrated member of the community than Cuomo.
City Comptroller and former mayoral candidate Brad Lander pointed out that Cuomo last lived in the city full-time decades ago. Cuomo himself admitted that he takes the subway either once a week or once every other week. Meanwhile, in true New-York fashion, Mamdani doesn’t own a car; I write this as a New Yorker whose last time driving was my road test four years ago.
These specific circumstances mean that even though Abughazaleh shares many policy goals and characteristics with Mamdani — she is also young, anti-establishment and adept at social media — she is unlikely to experience his successes.
Instead, Daniel Biss, the current mayor of Evanston who has established himself as the true Illinoisian with genuine motivations to run, is the best choice for the seat so far.
Abughazaleh, like Mamdani, has an impressive social media presence with 105,000 followers on Instagram. Her primary challenger, Biss, has under 3,000. This may seem alarming for his supporters, but no amount of digital outreach can make up for a lack of knowledge of the community.
In short, it is much easier to quantify followers and social media view counts than to quantify how connected a constituency feels to their representative. Yet, the latter is just as, if not more, important.
Mamdani was excellent at both authentic digital outreach and in-person work. The Friday before Election Day, for example, he walked Manhattan from top to bottom. On Election Day, he started his day at 5:30 a.m. with a press conference. Meanwhile, throughout the whole campaign, Cuomo engaged very little with the public and the press, according to the Gothamist, a NYC newsroom.
Then, there’s the question of why someone wants to run for government.
Mamdani initially attributed his motivation for running to his experience as working as a housing counselor advocating for people facing eviction. I believe that the best leaders are those who have been called on to do so. If you aren’t a part of the community, then how can they possibly call on you to lead?
Abughazaleh appears to be well-meaning. She posts lots of videos online, including on Youtube, explaining her disdain for Trump’s authoritarianism. But that’s not the sole job of a politician who, if elected, would serve nearly 750,000 9th District residents. Abughazaleh has to prove not just that she wants to lead, but that she is dedicated to serving the residents of Illinois’s 9th District, specifically.
Though Abughazaleh has tried to immerse herself in the community through events like beach cleanups and collecting mutual aid, it will still be a challenging task. She moved to Illinois just months before announcing her candidacy, a decision which she attributed to her partner’s job. She didn’t live in the district at the time, but in Streeterville -– she said she’d move here this summer.
Just because you meet many people who live in a district in a short amount of time doesn’t mean that you have the intricate knowledge required to lead them. That takes years.
Abughazaleh’s campaign page says, “Our district deserves a fighter in Congress — someone who shows her constituents every day that she is doing everything possible to stop the authoritarian takeover of the United States.”
The use of “our” here may be premature — is she yet a part of it?
Abughazaleh is unlikely to succeed in part because Biss is a very strong contender. With rich ties to the community, Biss’s campaign page states that he “has been in the fight with us his whole life. As a community activist, state senator, and now mayor, he has delivered real progressive results for our community’s toughest challenges.”
In this case, the “our” in “our community” seems more appropriate.
I agree with Abughazaleh that Democrats need to do a better job of holding Trump and the Republicans accountable. But I also believe in community, and that politicians who know the community best should win. A talented politician should do both.
The potential of this type of elected official helped convince New York voters that Zohran Mamdani should be their mayor. Biss, not Abughazaleh, follows this model in IL-09.
Talia Winiarsky is a Weinberg junior. She can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
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