Run Zohran Run!: Inside Zohran Mamdani’s Sensational Campaign to Become New York City’s First Democratic Socialist Mayor

Journalist Hamm (Bernie’s Brooklyn) offers a timely but uneven account of Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral campaign. Opening the chronicle with the Queens assemblyman’s surprise primary win against former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, Hamm explores how the 33-year-old democratic socialist upended conventional wisdom about how to succeed in N.Y.C. politics, from his unwavering pro-Palestinian views to his lack of support from the New York Times. The narrative also tracks the campaign’s response to xenophobic backlash, including a councilwoman’s call for Mamdani’s deportation, and juxtaposes Mamdani’s relentlessly optimistic focus on affordability with Cuomo’s “dreary” billionaire-backed messaging. Hamm provides biographical details about Mamdani that shed light on both his development as a politician, such as his going on a hunger strike in 2021 for taxi drivers caught in a “predatory” debt system, and as a person, like his youthful rap career as Young Cardamom. The account is at its most captivating when Hamm adds local political context to Mamdani’s primary victory, including an analysis of the little-appreciated role played by the Democratic Socialists of America. However, the author’s overt, enthusiastic support of Mamdani makes for a muddled mix with his objective reporting. It’s a great primer on the candidate for supporters, but others will yearn for more depth. (Oct.)