Yesterday, history was made in New York City. Not only because Zohran became the first Muslim mayor of America’s largest city, but because millions of people stood up and said no to Trump’s oligarchy and yes to something deeper — to a vision of a country built by immigrants, by workers, by everyone who keeps this democracy alive.

Zohran said it best: “This movement was made by Yemeni bodega owners, Mexican abuelas, Senegalese taxi drivers, Uzbek nurses, Trinidadian line cooks, and Ethiopian aunties.”

 

It was a declaration that the soul of this nation still belongs to the people who make it run, who show up every day to build, heal, feed, and care.

I had the privilege of being in New York yesterday, in the city where I was raised, surrounded by people who reminded me of why we fight.

 

The streets were filled with something we haven’t felt in a long time — joy, unity, and relief. It was the closest thing to real political euphoria since 2008. I was in Chicago then, when people wept with hope. Yesterday, I saw that same light return to people’s faces.

But we can’t mistake this moment for an ending. The government is still shut down. Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to swear in Adelita, choosing to protect predators instead of children. The cruelty continues, but the power behind it is weakening. For the first time in years, it feels like the country is starting to wake up.

Across the river, New Jersey elected Mikie Sherill. In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger won her race for governor. Together with Zohran’s victory, these results mark a blue wave not built on fear, but on purpose. They are a sign that voters are rejecting corruption and authoritarianism, and remembering who we are meant to be.

What’s happening now is bigger than any one candidate. It’s a complete shift for the Democratic party. Ordinary people, long dismissed as powerless, are building a new coalition of decency and courage. When we believe in one another again, the machinery of hate begins to rust.

This is what the future looks like: multicultural, defiant, humane. Zohran’s win is proof that hope is not naïve. It is revolutionary.

The question now is whether we have the strength to keep it alive. Join us to keep up the fight.