Matthew Thomas is a writer and researcher in Queens, NY. An organizer with NYC-DSA, he served as communications director on Zohran Mamdani's campaign for State Assembly, and as a researcher on Tiffany Cabán's campaign for Queens District Attorney.
Illapa Sairitupac is a social worker and socialist running for New York State Assembly. In an interview, Sairitupac talks about his family immigrating from Peru, socialism’s history in Lower Manhattan, Christianity, and his plans to fight climate change.
Since 2016, under the influence of Bernie Sanders and NYC-DSA, the socialist base in Queens, New York has transformed from an eclectic mixture of progressive voters into a multiracial movement of the working class.
Andrew Cuomo’s abuses as New York governor were uniquely repugnant. But his empire could only have been built with the aid of corporate executives, the state legislature, and the media.
Democratic Party hacks love to accuse socialists of lacking support from black and brown New Yorkers. But a look at the numbers in Brooklyn reveals the opposite: socialism won among black working-class voters. Support from white liberals, on the other hand, was missing.
Socialist candidates in recent years have tended to struggle with poor and working-class black voters. But new data from the New York City election shows that’s not inevitable: we can build a base that draws in the entire working class.