Zohran Mamdani may not solve all of the beleaguered US Democrats’ problems, but the surprise front-runner in the race for New York mayor does offer hints on how to win back voters and power.
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The Democrats – shut out of power in the White House and both chambers of Congress – were seen negatively by 63 per cent of US voters, according to a July poll in The Wall Street Journal, the party’s lowest approval rating in 30 years.
John Kane, a professor of political science at New York University, said the party needed to reconnect with parts of their traditional base, such as lower-income Americans and young voters.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has developed a plan aimed at luring working-class people and young adults, for whom famously expensive New York is becoming harder and harder to call home.
His platform’s highlights include a freeze on rent hikes as well as free bus service and day care.
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