By Ted Trimpa

“I’m not dead yet!” — to paraphrase “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” As pundits were busy proclaiming Democrats rudderless, swinging left for the sake swinging, and unable to win, well, what happens? Democrats win, and big.

And how? By appealing to where the electorate is — the middle.
Granted, the brazen, right-wing, executive-branch power grabs by President Donald Trump, and his burn-the-house-down zeal were contributing factors to what we don’t want in our everyday, moderate lives. How could they not?

But the message from this election is clear: obituaries are for people, not this political party.

Oh, but what about the red elephant in the room, Mamdani — the new, socialist-Democrat mayor of New York City? Isn’t he the “new” voice of the Democratic Party?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

No matter the answer, however, Mamdani is not a threat to the republic contrary to pernicious paranoid belief.

He is a charismatic voice who connects, and he’s not on a murder spree, sickle in hand, chasing the Democratic Party down a dark alley. He’s lifting the proverbial hood of the party and asking when was the last time someone changed the oil. He’s young, and the Democratic establishment is not.

Does this mean the socialist Democrats are the future of the Democratic Party? I certainly hope not. Democrats are winning with moderates and have been winning with them for longer than one may think. This most recent election? Minus Mamdani, moderates won and progressives lost. A review of recent electoral history will show way more often than not, the progressive-endorsed candidate lost. Including in Colorado.
Arguably, Mamdani’s performance was lacking. His winning margin should have been greater compared to governor-elect Spanberger’s in Virginia and governor-elect Sherrill’s in New Jersey — and all three had similar turnout numbers. Mamdani only won in New York City, a lanai of liberalism.

His main opponent, disgraced, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, crawled out of his coffin every day and is boring, easy to dismiss, and dusty. Cuomo ran as the establishment just as the rising electorate was grasping to reject it.

And, as a side note, the “rising electorate” is not a gaggle of nose-pierced, tattooed-in-red, under-educated youth. Fifty-five percent of college-educated New Yorkers stood up for Mamdani. Whether our universities are bastions of liberalism or not, it is fact we have to face.

Moderate Democrats had a horn-blowing, celebratory night, and the socialist-Democrats, all things considered, had a disappointing one (for example, Minneapolis). But ignoring the Democratic Socialists is a mistake. There’s a lot here, and Democrats shouldn’t wholesale dismiss the Mamdanis — no throwing them under the soon-to-be free buses.

Democrats win with them, not against them.

At least I hope they think so.

So, before Democrats pat themselves on their backpacks and proclaim they’re through the wilderness, they must see the forest and not just the trees. The electorate still doesn’t like either party; for the moment they just happen to like us a tad more than them. This election was no endorsement of the geriatric, Democratic establishment.

Yes, Mamdani ran on free buses, free grocery stores, rent freezes and socking it to the ultra-wealthy, nearly none which he has the actual power to do. And none of which moderates support. But he has charisma, is young, articulate and, well, did I mention young? He’s a TikTok tycoon.

Mamdani, however, does face a real test of his mettle. Governing. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders can pontificate, complain about the color of the car, not like its wheels, and whine about the radio, but they don’t have to drive. Mamdani does. Make decisions that have real, day-to-day consequences. Tme will tell.

But face it: Aside from the buses, groceries and rent, his message is, at some level, quintessentially democratic. Affordability. Opportunity. Government that works for people. Taking on the establishment, and in this case, President Trump and the 2025 plan posse. Mamdani isn’t a purist; he’s an opportunist.

Mamdani is on to something, and it has little to do with being a socialist Democrat. Moderate Democrats dismiss him at their own peril. They need their own charismatic, articulate and, yes, non-geriatric voice. And soon, as in yesterday. If they fail, Mamdani will be “the” rather than “a” compelling voice.

Ted Trimpa is an attorney and Democratic strategist based in Denver.