Zohran Mamdani is poised to become the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, after leading in the city's ranked-choice primary on Tuesday. When he entered the crowded primary field last fall, the democratic socialist state assemblymember, who is 33 years old, was virtually unknown. But he had recently skyrocketed in the polls, fueled by in-person interactions, viral videos and policy proposals that appear to have resonated especially among younger and first-time primary voters. According to New York University political science and public policy professor Patrick Egan, "I think everyone is stunned and shocked by the unexpected nature of his victory." "And I think one of the other notable things about that victory is that he won with a really progressive, liberal left-wing platform of the kind that we probably haven't ever seen in New York."
