Zhoran Mamdani started his campaign for mayor 378 days before the 2025 New York Mayoral elections and now he is the first Muslim, Millenial, and South Asian mayor of the economic capital of the world New York City.
Mamdani’s victory does not just mean that New York is changing, but it signifies a greater shift in American politics. After years of internal conflict in the US built by the Democratic and Republican National Conventions alike, young voters are starting to look away from establishment politicians. Historically, establishment politicians have not kept the needs of everyday Americans in the forefront of their minds and instead worked for the interests of the billionaires that fund them through super PACs.
Campaign funding has been an important topic of discussion in recent years. In 2024 campaign funding was in the forefront of many voters’ minds. Both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Eric Adams were under fire for potential misuse of campaign funds, leading to indictments for both. Concerns about campaign funding run deeper than corruption though; in the 2024 election cycle, $1.9 billion were spent by PACs, non-profits, and shell companies run by the ultra wealthy. This money was spent in the interest of putting candidates who would work to protect and grow their wealth in power.
Contrasting the dark money spent in the 2024 federal elections with the victory of Zohran Mamdani’s grassroots campaign shows what Gen-Z and millennial voters value. Mamdani’s democratic socialist policies meant to improve the lives of lower and middle class New Yorkers reeled voters in and they stayed for the honesty they saw in him. On the other hand, Wall Street billionaires spent more than $40 million on other campaigns and organizations in the interest of thwarting Mamdani’s run for mayor. To many Americans, this spending has only strengthened beliefs in Mamdani-like politicians because historically billionaires have been against the “rising tides raise all ships” type of policies that Mamdani has built his campaign on and that have benefited Americans in the past.
Mamdani’s successful social media marketing has also shown future candidates for all positions the most effective path to office. The biggest signifier of Mamdani’s successful marketing was the fact that one of his opponents, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, became a meme all across TikTok for his witty remarks and outlandish stories. The Sliwa memes not only reflect how effective Mamdani was on social media, but they also reflect the untapped wealth of young voters who have felt unseen.
Young progressives do not feel as under-represented as other voters, though. Many apolitical voters have voted for conservative candidates like Trump because of the outdated narratives that exist around Republicans running the economy better. These young voters also feel demonized by Democrats because of the push for progressiveness in the 2010s. Now, Zhoran Mamdani has the chance to change the narrative.
