John,

Zohran Mamdani’s victory over Andrew Cuomo and the corporate, Democratic establishment yesterday wasn’t just a win for working-class New Yorkers: it was a groundbreaking victory for the progressive movement at large and our collective fight to reshape the Democratic Party.

I wrote about how we can build on Zohran’s victory in a new op-ed just published in Zeteo, but before I share some of it, I have to ask:

Will you rush $5 to fuel Justice Democrats’ work to win Democratic primaries and send more working-class progressives like Zohran to Congress next year?

The prevailing Democratic Party logic and strategy centers around the idea that courage is a political liability. For too long, Democratic consultants have warned candidates to soften their convictions to avoid confrontations with wealthy donors and powerful interest groups. Doing so allows candidates – and the party as a whole – to raise the most amount of money possible. This is how we win elections, they say. But while Democrats have succeeded in maximizing fundraising, even exceeding Republicans in many instances, winning has not followed. We are watching our country unravel during a second Trump presidency, while Republicans also control the Senate and House.

Zohran’s decisive victory last night is a rebuke of the party’s conventional wisdom. His victory provides a clear mandate: the left and our progressive allies can and must embrace moral courage as a deliberate political strategy. If we do, we won’t just move the conversation – we’ll realign political power itself.

As PAC director for Justice Democrats and co-director of New Yorkers for Lower Costs, an independent expenditure effort that raised over $4 million from more than 10,000 donors to support Mamdani, I watched firsthand how Zohran’s unapologetic moral clarity resonated deeply with voters. Beyond the innovative campaign tactics, that moral clarity was what truly set Zohran’s campaign apart, and it’s a strategy we must take with us into 2026 and beyond.

That means standing up to all corporate and special interests – especially those spending millions against the left. That includes opposing genocide in Gaza and the lobbies that champion it, and treating crypto as the corporate scam that it is, and actually regulating it. As Ta-Nehisi Coates put it: “If you can’t stand up against genocide, why should I believe you can stand up for democracy?”

Party insiders often warn that morally consistent stances alienate voters. But Mamdani’s win proves the opposite: voters reward authenticity and courage, especially on issues like genocide.

However, those insiders are right about one thing: brave candidates risk alienating wealthy donors. If you take principled positions, billionaire-backed lobbies may spend millions against you. But we’re not just trying to win one-off elections – we’re trying to change what electoral politics can achieve.

Instead of building a strategy around avoiding punishment from the elite few, we should build one around how to leverage the millions of people who are being left behind.

By remaining silent during genocide, or helping Donald Trump pass corrupt crypto legislation, we are gifting these wealthy, right-wing interests exactly what they want: a weak opposition party that, instead of fighting for working people, greenlights a corporate, warmongering agenda.

Silence and capitulation do not make a candidate, consultant, or operative “strategic.” It’s the easy way out, the path of least resistance, and the strategy that has brought us a weak Democratic Party fully unequipped to fight fascism.

When enough candidates, donors, and organizations commit to moral courage, the power of wealthy interests will finally weaken. We are seeing this happen with AIPAC in real time. Don’t underestimate the work it took to get to this point by courageous leaders like Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Summer Lee, and Rashida Tlaib, alongside movement infrastructure like the Reject AIPAC coalition, co-led by Justice Democrats and countless other groups fighting for Palestinian human rights.

Despite some losses, we are winning the long-term fight. Our work of transforming the Democratic Party in Democratic primaries is working, and the spending we face from corporate lobbies validates the power we are building. The millions spent against candidates like Mamdani, Summer Lee, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush is the ruling class recognizing us as a genuine threat to their interests.

2026 represents an opportunity to double our bloc in Congress, but only if we are brave, and only if others are brave with us. In primaries and general elections alike, we cannot “strategically” dance around the corporate, right-wing forces trying to buy our democracy. Our only path to real change, in the face of a full corporate takeover of our country, is to take on the billionaire class head-on and with our full force. That is what this moment calls for, morally and strategically.

Justice Democrats is meeting that mandate with Democratic primary challenges nationwide, and for voters in New York who are eager to build on their gains in the city, in the coming weeks, you will have that opportunity.

Pitch in any amount now to keep growing our movement and secure more wins for working people in 2026 →

Contribute $5

In solidarity,

Geoff Simpson
Campaigns Director