Optimism on Wall Street and in the Race for Mayor
Even as an oppressive heatwave smothered New York City—and much of the rest of the country—a breeze of optimism wafted through the sun-baked streets, namely, the stunning, jubilant victory of Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic mayoral primary. When Chris Smith sat down with Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens, for an interview back in May, the candidate had made enough waves that the establishment had started to notice. And push back—hard.
Andrew Cuomo made combating antisemitism a core tenet of his campaign, and with his rich backers—Michael Bloomberg, Bill Ackman, DoorDash—tried to paint Mamdani, a Muslim, as a foe to New York’s large Jewish community. “The ex-governor is finding Mamdani’s history a highly useful foil: Mamdani has long been a vocal advocate for Palestinians; he has called Israel’s military campaign in Gaza a ‘genocide’; and he has backed the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement,” Smith wrote in May.
But, Mamdani’s campaign gained more and more momentum, and by the eve of the election, the polling began to shift in his favor. As the results rolled in on Tuesday night, it became clear that Cuomo’s smears failed to gain traction. Mamdani won the first round of the election decisively, and Cuomo was forced to concede. Reporting from Mamdani’s election night party, Smith notes that Cynthia Nixon, Brad Lander, and Anand Giridharadas were among the well-wishers celebrating the triumph and bidding farewell to Cuomo. “Good fucking riddance,” Lander, Mamdani’s opponent turned ally, said.
Mamdani’s victory offers plenty of lessons for Democrats, Eric Lutz writes, perhaps most importantly, that voters want to be offered a vision of what government can do for them, not just which candidates to fear. If Cuomo decides to run in the general election as an independent come November, voters will have another chance to choose the vision that serves them best.
Elsewhere, Issie Lapowsky sits down with the Wall Street analyst Dan Ives, who tells her that conflict with Iran has only strengthened his optimism for growth in the AI sector. “With a weakened Iran and no nuclear capabilities, there is a growing view from tech investors that the opportunity for the Middle East to embrace the tech and AI boom is now on the doorstep, being led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” he says. “Bullish for tech when this all settles.”
Stay cool and thanks for reading!
