Pundit critics: “We need to disrupt orthodoxies!”

BBC (just occasionally) runs some daring coverage

Same critics: “no, not my orthodoxies!”

It’ll never catch on

…They should ask themselves why so many young (45 and under) people are so unhappy with the economy/politics and convinced that capitalism isn’t working for them. Because in the main- it isn’t.

All the commentary huffing and puffing, complaining that young people have voted for a socialist is hilarious and missing the point...

Simply telling them in a deeply compelling way. Being relentlessly hopeful and unashamedly telling a progressive story. That win is going to influence and reshape left of centre politics far beyond NYC.

And it has set the political content machine alight. He’s done it fighting in a Millennial/Gen Z way (vertical video, tiktok) yet by focussing relentlessly on traditional economic/bread and butter concerns.

Off year elections always favour non-incumbents. But Trump has been so completely dominant politically this is the first sign of real frailty and that strength being overstated. And that matters.

Meanwhile Mamdani cannot be ignored. He has run the first truly Millennial/Gen Z political campaign.

He’s been used to complete power in his second term and will abhor the idea of a Dem Congress coming after him again. Who knows what he’ll try and pull off to keep voters away from polling stations.

Newsom emerges a big winner. He gambled on a redistricting strategy, showed some fight and won. The party will remember and be grateful. The prospect of a Dem House and even competitive Senate election will anger and incentivise Trump to play dirtier in run up to midterms.

With the California redistricting win and clear signs of Trump backlash, Dems will find fundraising and candidate recruitment easier.

Shows once again that in off presidential years Dem base is now more committed than GOP’s. There has been much pessimism for Democrats about even taking back the House.

Mamdani will get all the attention (he’s an extraordinary and charismatic candidate) but the VA/NJ results probably more significNt for the dynamics of US politics over next year