The Republican Party’s decisive sweep in the 2024 elections—capturing both the White House and Congress—left Democrats facing a sobering truth: their message is no longer resonating with voters. Many young New York City voters first discovered Zohran Mamdani through social media, thanks to his engaging content. However, it’s through his tireless campaigning and ambitious proposals that the 33 year old made history on June 24th 2025 by winning the Democratic primary of the New York City mayoral race against the very well-funded and politically entrenched, Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani’s win sparked some surprise and few could have predicted this outcome at the beginning of the campaign given that, back in January, he was still largely trailing behind Cuomo who, in turn, had a strong predicted lead. But his persistent campaigning and refusal to give up led him to climb in the polls week after week and ultimately win the primary election.

Is Zohran Mamdani—the young Ugandan-American candidate who mobilized thousands—an example of positive change within the Democratic party? Or will his ‘radical’ policy ideas serve to exacerbate tensions within?

Soon after Mamdani’s victory, president Trump reacted through social media by calling the candidate a “100% communist lunatic”, testament to Mamdani’s socialist program, and later accused him of being in the country “illegally”.¹ The president’s strong reaction is one of many examples that show how far Mamdani’s electoral campaign reached, going beyond the borders of the state and even the country. His social media content often contains comments from international users showing support all the way from Europe or Asia. Because as political and geopolitical unrest grows around the United States and the world, Mamdani showed himself to be a mostly likeable and trustworthy political figure appealing even to people who live thousands of miles away. And to accomplish this, he made use of different strategies. 

Firstly, his campaign rested mostly, if not entirely, on public support. Over 98% of his campaign funds came from individual donations and he still raised over $2 million.² On the day of the vote, it was volunteers of his campaign that went door to door and distributed tracts to push citizens to go to the polls. Mamdani was often seen traveling around NYC burrows to meet citizens face to face, including in the Bronx, a borough which is frequently overlooked by citywide campaigns. He established himself as a reachable figure, someone everyone can speak to and who follows trends on social media, someone who has a mortgage and a wife. Representative Tom Suozzi of New York’s 3rd District put it bluntly: Mamdani “won because too many voters think the rest of the Democratic Party no longer stands for them”.³ Thus, Mamdani established himself as a new figure, different from politicians that have the public burnt out from scandals and who feel disconnected from real life. In a context where most voters feel as though politicians don’t listen to them,⁴ Mamdani not only called out Cuomo’s past scandals (scandals which made him step down from the governor's office back in 2021) but also distinguished himself every chance he got in terms of policy proposals, funding and outreach. He not only told voters that he was different, he showed it. Now only time will tell if this remains true or if it was only an electoral strategy, but no matter what the strategy paid off.

Secondly, Mamdani campaigned on topics that he knew people wanted to hear about. Mamdani developed (and spoke extensively about) policy proposals concerning issues that citizens care about. During the 2024 elections, voters declared that they voted mostly based on the economy.⁵ His policy proposals gave voters the impression that he would take concrete action to lower the cost of living in one of the most expensive cities of the country. Amid rising grocery costs—symbolized by the viral discourse around egg prices—Mamdani’s idea of public grocery stores touched right at the heart of the public. This was also the case with increased rent control, as many New Yorkers struggle to pay rent and find suitable housing within their budget. Thus Mamdani gave very concrete solutions to everyday problems of New Yorkers, which drew new voters to the polls, especially young citizens,⁶ which in turn gave him a very strong support base. 

Yet policy proposals and citizen mobilization can’t save political candidates from controversy. In 2024, the Democratic party lost many votes due to people’s anger at Kamala Harris’ inaction in the Middle East.⁷ Voters felt unable to vote for a candidate who stood by the massacres happening while in power, even to block Trump’s potential win. These Middle Eastern questions came up again during the mayoral race and Mamdani was able to answer in an overall satisfying way, which didn’t alienate any voters and further brought some questioning as to why the media was asking NYC mayoral candidates foreign policy questions. His answers to the most delicate questions were that he would “focus on New Yorkers”, an answer which, although avoids the issue, shows his electorate that he is truly running to solve issues locally.

Thus if he showed himself to be so likable, why is he so divisive? Mamdani represents a deep ideological rift divide that plagues the Democratic party: centrist liberals versus the growing socialist wing. While their differences are mostly put aside during federal elections, the NYC mayoral race had well-known Democrats from around the country supporting different candidates. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders showed public support for Mamdani, applauding his social policies including free public transport and reinforced rent control. All the while former president Bill Clinton and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg chose to endorse Andrew Cuomo.⁸ This divide showcases a greater problem in American politics which is the deeply rooted two-party system. A system which recently has been leaving voters feeling stuck and unrepresented. The historical main parties, Democrats and Republicans,⁹ each unite vastly different ideas and opinions on how to run the country. However, the recent political and economical context show that perhaps the domination of liberals within the Democrat party may not be what people want and need. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign was mostly funded by super PACs that represent big corporations and NYC millionaires, millionaires that strongly benefit from liberal policies such as a free housing market. Yet Cuomo represents most of the issues that people now have with the Democrat party: representing millionaire interests does not help resolve the high cost of living crisis, all the while sexual harassment scandals distract from any real work being done. Some warn that Mamdani's positions may alienate voters that are in between Republicans and Democrats, however Trump’s recent policies have been so destructive of his own supporter base that Democrats need to seize the opportunity to reconnect with the working class and regain the trust that they keep losing from the American people.¹⁰

In conclusion, Democrats around the country, whether they agree with Mamdani’s proposals or not, must learn from his campaign if they want to regain voters on the federal level. Showing that they understand popular problems and implementing policies that benefit those in need could help Democrats regain a majority in the House of Representatives in 2026. Trump’s policies have aggravated many citizens, even those who voted for him back in 2024, and there is therefore an opportunity for Democrats to distinguish themselves in the polls, if they show voters that they have evolved and learned from their mistakes. It is evident that Mamdani’s campaign in a historically Democratic city can’t be replicated in every state but it does serve as a first successful example of what citizen-focused Democrat politicians can be. The Democratic party must learn from Mamdani if it wants a fighting chance against the MAGA movement.

Works Cited:

1.  Wendler, Jacob. “Trump Weighs in on Mamdani’s Win: ‘A 100% Communist Lunatic.’” POLITICO (25 Jun. 2025), https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/trump-zohran-mamdani-reaction-00423933. 

2.  “Individual Contributions to Participating 2025 Candidates”. https://www.nyccfb.info/follow-the-money/individual-contributions-to-participating-2025-candidates?candidate=MamdaniZK. 

3.   Suozzi, Thomas. “For Democrats, Mamdani Is a Wake-Up Call—and a Bad Example.” Wall Street Journal (2025), http://suozzi.house.gov/media/in-the-news/democrats-mamdani-wake-call-and-bad-example. 

4.  Hatfield, Jenn. “More than 80% of Americans Believe Elected Officials Don’t Care What People like Them Think.” Pew Research Center (2024), https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/30/more-than-80-of-americans-believe-elected-officials-dont-care-what-people-like-them-think/. 

5.  Nadeem, Reem. “2. Issues and the 2024 Election.” Pew Research Center (2024), https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/09/09/in-tied-presidential-race-harris-and-trump-have-contrasting-strengths-weaknesses/. 

6.  Fitzsimmons, Emma, et al. “How Zohran Mamdani Brought New Voters to the Polls.” New York Times (Jul. 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/health/abortion-shield-laws-telemedicine.html 

7.  Malik, Nesrine. “One Thing I’m Sure of: Harris Ignored Voters’ Anger over Gaza, and It Cost the Democrats Dear.” The Guardian (2024), https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/11/kamal-harris-gaza-democrats-arab-american-voters-donald-trump. 

8.  Scalia, Briana. “NYC Mayoral Endorsements: Who Is Ranking Who, and in Which Order?” FOX 5 NY (17 June 2025), https://www.fox5ny.com/election/new-york-city-mayor-endorse-rank-voting-election. 

9.  Gambino, Lauren, and Alaina Demopoulos. “A Roadmap to Beat Trump? How Rise of Zohran Mamdani Is Dividing Democrats.” The Guardian (2025), https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/jun/29/does-zohran-mamdani-new-york-primary-victory-offer-roadmap-for-democrats. 

10.  Waldvogel, Miriam. “6 in 10 Voters View Democrats Negatively: WSJ Poll .” The Hill (25 Jul. 2025), https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5421535-democrats-negative-approval-rating/.