How to Win Zohran's Agenda

By Eric Blanc, Wen Zhuang, Emily Lemmerman

The prospect of a democratic socialist who has said billionaires shouldn’t exist becoming the mayor of New York City has the ruling class in a tizzy. But Kathryn Wylde, head of one of the city’s most powerful business lobbies, has a message for her rich friends: don’t worry so much.

Wylde, Vanity Fair reported last month, “has been tamping down the hysteria by reminding the city’s titans that many of Mamdani’s proposed policies would need the approval of state government, and that Governor Kathy Hochul, who is up for reelection in 2026, has already shot down the idea of raising taxes.”

Wylde isn’t wrong. There are indeed powerful obstacles standing in the way of Zohran’s ability to fulfill many of his most high-profile campaign pledges. When you’re up against some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and politicians, just getting elected and pursuing smart insider politics isn’t enough to pass ambitious policies—and Zohran’s camp knows this.

So what will it take to turn Zohran’s agenda for an affordable New York into a reality?

In our view, what’s needed is a mass campaign that seizes high attention moments — like a November election night victory — to onboard large numbers of volunteers; that sustains widespread organizing after election day; and that trains working-class leaders to analyze the power of their opponents and to develop a targeted strategy to push recalcitrant elected officials to fund Zohran’s proposals.

Zohran has already shown his ability to build a mass movement. Over 50,000 people have already volunteered to help get him elected. By expanding and deepening this grassroots machine after November, Zohran can forge an organized people’s fightback powerful enough to oblige Hochul and Albany to fund his core agenda. Here’s our proposal for what this could look like.

A Plan to Win

Imagine it’s election night this November. The eyes of New York and the country are on Zohran, who has just decisively defeated all the establishment candidates. In his victory speech, watched by millions, Zohran not only thanks his supporters and lays out his agenda for change. He also explains that the only way he can pass his agenda is if everyday New Yorkers join the fight — starting by collecting one million signatures from constituents calling on their state representatives to fully fund public services statewide. And, perhaps most importantly, he repeatedly provides