Supporters of Democratic candidate for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a campaign rally in New York City on October 13. Angelina Katsanis/Reuters
Standing in the lobby of the art deco theater where Zohran Mamdani held a raucous rally last week, just hours after Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas in a ceasefire deal, the organizer was dressed the part: A black T-shirt with the phrase “Land Back” on the top of a circle, “Democratic Socialists of America” on the bottom, a Palestinian flag in the middle.
The pitch was the same to each prospect he sidled up to: “You look like you might want to sign up with the DSA.”
Mamdani’s emergence is the biggest electoral achievement the DSA has ever had, well beyond the scattered state legislature and city council seats flipped their way in r