Hey John. David here. I just finished launching a canvass and knocking doors for Zohran Mamdani in NYC, and I have to tell you: the energy is unreal.
Every conversation. Every excited and hopeful voter behind each door. Every young person wearing an “I Voted” sticker and smiling like they finally see a future worth fighting for. Not to mention the volunteers both young and old who showed up to my canvass launch to knock doors for the first time in their lives. You can feel something big shifting. There is a real intergenerational movement happening here. And it’s not just the city, but everywhere.
Because regardless of tonight’s results, we’ve already made history.
A movement of young people who were told to wait their turn just pushed a 34-year-old, unapologetically progressive outsider — someone the political establishment called “too young,” “too disruptive,” and tried to block at every step — to the verge of becoming mayor of one of the most influential cities in the world.
But now we have to finish strong. With so much at stake, we can’t take anything for granted. Can you chip in $5 to power our final GOTV efforts today and help launch the next wave of young candidates like Zohran into office?
Canvassing with volunteers in NYC for Zohran Mamdani
This didn’t happen because of corporate PACs or Democratic Party leadership. In fact, it happened in spite of them. This happened because young people organized. It happened because Zohran actually did something not very common anymore — he stuck to his values, rallied his base, and expanded the electorate. Instead of pandering to billionaires and special interests, he spoke to the people (what a thought!), growing his volunteer base to over 100,000 New Yorkers.
Zohran had a message so clear and inspiring that when I was with him in Washington Square Park just a few months ago, we were mobbed by young people (some not even old enough to vote yet). Not only did they know who he was, they literally recited his platform. That’s the power of young candidates who are courageous enough to stick to their values even if it means they could lose.
Zohran ran on a vision for New York City where people and working families can actually live, not just scrape by: affordable housing, taxing billionaires, higher wages, and investing in public services like fast and free transit.
That vision caught fire 🔥 It made regular people feel seen — and pissed off the powerful. It brought new and young voters into the process. It quadrupled early turnout. And it sent the political machines into panic mode.
Because this wasn’t supposed to be possible. Not in their system.
But young people changed the game. We organized, knocked on doors, told the truth, got creative, and didn’t back down when we were attacked. We changed what’s possible and proved we can crack open any door, even if it’s been locked shut for decades.
Leaders We Deserve exists exactly for moments like this: to elect a new generation of candidates who not only bring fresh blood into the party, but bring the new tactics and new voters needed to get Democrats back to winning. It’s time to rebuild the party of the working class, and it starts with electing candidates like Zohran.
So before results start rolling in tonight, I’m asking you:
We just seriously reshaped political power in the United States and showed everyone who’s ever told us to “wait our turn:”
We’re not waiting. It is our turn.
And tonight is just the first step.
— David
