This text is part of Queerletter, EL PAÍS’s LGTBIQ+ newsletter, coordinated by Pablo León. Sign up here to receive it.
Zoran Mamdani has won the New York mayoral election. His victory over Andrew Cuomo shows that voters, particularly young people and LGTBIQ+ people (more than 80% of the latter support him, according to exit polls), see Mamdani as more than his opponents’ desperate attempts to instill fear by linking him to a “radical magnet.” Late in the campaign, Mr. Cuomo (who lost the Democratic primary against the mayor-elect and ran as an independent with the support of Republican Donald Trump) used a photo of Mr. Mamdani and Imam Siraj Wahaj to suggest that the young socialist was not only inciting Islamophobia, but was also by association hostile to the LGTBIQ+ community.
This is a proven strategy in culture war strategy. They associate their partner with a controversial or unpopular figure and let that name do their dirty work. As political scientists who have studied such strategies, we argue that this connection, this “reputation chain”, only works if it appears genuine. The results of the 2025 New York mayoral election campaign just showed that this was not the case.
Our research with Douglas Page on reputation obsession, a strategy that deliberately and selfishly associates local political actors with untrustworthy figures, shows that this tactic can be effective. Also important is reliability. In several European elections, we have found that associating a local politician with an unpopular figure (in our case, associating the local leader’s homophobic rhetoric with that of Vladimir Putin) shifts support towards the politician. In these cases, the connection was sustained because the emissary (Putin) imposed a significant moral burden on the population, and because local leaders confidently identified with the anti-LGTBIQ+ narrative (and in a similar tone to the Russian president). Reliability, and not bonding for its own sake, turned out to be essential.
Mr. Cuomo’s move lacked that credibility. First, Mamdani did not resort to “rainbow washing,” which exploits LGTBIQ+ rights to whiten her image. As such, he campaigned with LGTBIQ+ organizations, marched with pride, and kept transgender rights at the center of his agenda throughout his campaign. Voters saw how he made these promises in good faith, not opportunism. These activities are possible with the support of many people. influencer strange Participants from the political world, including Matt Bernstein, laid the foundation for trust.
It is difficult to credibly portray someone as anti-LGTBIQ+ if their coalition includes gatherings within the LGTBIQ+ framework. zoran gay Or visit Papi Juice, an iconic space in Brooklyn, during a party. Voters know how to distinguish between an opportunistic photo and the actual program associated with it.
unreliable messenger
The success of reputational ties depends on widely recognized figures, whose moral authority is already contested. Mr. Cuomo emphasized his past statements and connections and tried to get Mr. Imam Wahaj to fulfill his role. But the New York voters he was targeting, voters who care and are concerned about LGTBIQ+ rights, are wary of the politics of defamation, especially when Islamophobia is also on the menu. Therefore, President Cuomo’s laugh when the announcer said on the radio that President Mamdani would “celebrate 9/11 again” was a testament to his strategy, and his political calculations became clearer to voters than the dangers presented by President Mamdani.
Worse for Mr. Cuomo, he himself has become a discredited messenger of the kind of reputational bond our research shows is so important. This is one example of the artificial intelligence-powered videos he popularized that included crude stereotypes such as keffiyeh thieves.
Reputation ties are determined by moral contrasts. And it’s difficult to present yourself as a champion of pluralism in New York while spreading racist and polarizing content. Not only does this demonstrate something that New York voters have little tolerance for – a policy that speaks of dignity while practicing contempt – it undermines the very attempt to link from the source.
In this case, there are broader lessons to be learned. Attachment to reputation works when it helps connect rhetoric to something that the audience already considers offensive or unjust, such as a foreign dictator’s wars or long history of repression. Our research therefore shows that linking the campaign’s LGBTI-phobic message in Poland to President Putin moved votes and revealed a moral coherence that people rejected.
On the other hand, attempts to associate progressive, clearly LGTBIQ+-leaning candidates with controversial magnets while relying on the use of racist platitudes completely ignore the essential mechanisms that make this reputational bond work.
The political risks of Cuomo’s campaign against Mamdani were not imaginary. Indeed, some New Yorkers saw the photo with the imam and confused Islam with extremism. Nevertheless, the part of New York’s population that powered the next mayor’s campaign is a young, multiracial coalition that has lived its life in the spotlight. strange and post-9/11 Islamophobia. A group of voters who are dissatisfied with the vain attempts to break down the various forms of discrimination they perceive and to determine which injustices deserve sympathy.
Many young voters view racism, attacks on immigrants in the name of defending the rights of women and LGTBIQ+ people, or silence in the face of Palestinian suffering as moral relativism.
Mr. Mamdani spoke about Gaza with the same clarity and consistency that he supports the LGTBIQ+ community, making Mr. Cuomo’s attacks even more out of place. We observed the following movements. After Mr. Cuomo’s comments, Mr. Mamdani gave an emotional speech outside a Bronx mosque, unapologetically defending his Muslim identity, and his insistence on authenticity neutralized these attacks and brought the focus back to true inclusion.
When we look at the election results more broadly (taking into account Democratic victories in New Jersey and Virginia votes), the pattern is even clearer. Campaigns that relied on transphobic panic and racism performed worse than candidates who combined political credibility and concrete proposals with genuine support for minorities. As you pointed out defender His post-election analysis shows that Democratic victories nationally were also a rejection of transphobia as a strategy.
The conclusion confirmed by the poll is that “guilt by association” only works when voters reveal a true moral consensus that they already distrust. In this case, that link didn’t work. Mamdani’s LGTBIQ+ credentials and appeal among young people complicated the strategy. At the same time, Mr. Cuomo’s tactics eroded his own moral authority.
In a city with overlapping communities and complex identities, authenticity is not just a virtue, it’s a strategy. And opportunism stands out. This is a lesson not just for this election, but for Democrats in general. In politics in 2025, credibility will trump intimidation.
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