When Zohran Mamdani launched his mayoral campaign a year ago, he was a relatively unknown state assemblyman polling at under 1%, but on Tuesday, the 34-year-old democratic socialist coasted to victory with over 50% support in the highest-turnout race for mayor in decades.

How did he do it?

Affordability was one avenue. Mamdani offered a series of proposals aimed at making notoriously expensive New York City more affordable for people who live there, promising free busing, city-run grocery stores, rent freezes, universal childcare — to be paid for by higher taxes on the wealthy. As one political science expert suggested, it helped that people seemed to believe he could deliver.

Drew Engelhardt, an assistant professor of political science at Stony Brook University, tracked the mayoral

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