Lina Khan: A Secret to Zohran Mamdani's Success
One of the most underappreciated aspects of Zohran Mamdani’s successful primary campaign for New York City mayor was its connection to small business. He stopped by halal carts and bodegas and asked what challenges they faced. It is the kind of outreach that teaches policymakers about real problems in our economy and can help build trust and lasting relationships.
It is also too rare.
Fighting for an economy where small businesses can thrive was once core to the Democratic Party. Democrats built a lasting coalition by shifting economic power to ordinary Americans, checking the power of big business, and expanding the middle class. But for decades, the party has largely ceded issues important to small businesses to Republicans.
During the New Deal, small businesses were a key part of Democrats’ coalition, with President Franklin Roosevelt championing “economic freedom for the wage earner and the farmer and the small-business man.”
The government gave workers greater rights and protections and checked the power of big business in banking, retailing and agriculture. Placing checks on big business while ensuring fair opportunity for labor and small business was recognized as a path for ensuring dignified work and growing the middle class.
Since President Bill Clinton, however, the mainstream of the Democratic Party has too often treated small business as little more than a talking point.
During the first three years of the Biden administration, the United States saw more new business applications than in any other period in American history, but it wasn’t enough to fully integrate small businesses into the mainstream of the Democratic coalition.
This is a mistake — and it’s time to fix it.
Small businesses are critical for our economy.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/opinion/lina-khan-mamdani-democrats-small-business.html