MAYOR FOR A NEW AGE

November 4 was a historic Election Day in New York—and a wild marathon for Zohran Mamdani.

- ROSS BARKAN

THERE IS NO EQUIVALENT in American history to Zohran Kwame Mamdani becoming, at 34, the next mayor of New York City. An avowed socialist has never led a city so large, nor has a Muslim—nor, in almost any instance, has someone so young and so unlikely to win. Parallels can be invoked, but none quite fits. In the sudden rise of the state assemblyman from Queens there are echoes of Barack Obama, who was derided by many Establishment players as far too inexperienced, or even feckless, to hold great power. And like Bernie Sanders, Mamdani endured a great deal of backlash from Democrats. Obama, though, was a sitting senator when he ran for president. Unlike Sanders, of course, Mamdani actually won.