8 takeaways from the NYC mayoral race
Zohran Mamdani, ‘the cost of living crisis,’ and post-Oct 7 politics
“My focus is on the cost of living crisis, bro.”
That’s a literal quote from Zohran Mamdani yesterday, after a reporter asked him to respond to a comment President Donald Trump made about his appearance. It’s also the headline message on his website and the thread that runs through nearly all his social content. From day one, Mamdani has been laser-focused on the idea that New York City is too expensive.
For a lot of young voters, that was all they needed to hear.
In a Reality Check about the mayoral election, one Gen Z voter told me they feel older generations don’t understand what it’s like to manage money today and that their parents’ financial playbook simply doesn’t apply anymore. That frustration has become a baseline of young political life.
Concern about affordability isn’t new. But what is new is a candidate like Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and the first high-profile figure to run almost entirely on the issue of affordability, in a way that felt authentically young. His proposals might be ambitious, even pie-in-the-sky, but they signal change. He’s talking to a generation that’s tired of being told to be realistic when the status quo already feels impossible.
That’s part of what we can learn from the NYC mayoral race, though it’s certainly not the only lesson. Simultaneously, there’s a discussion about establishment politics and the role of populism, new media, and the Democratic party’s relationship to antisemitism and Israel.
Whether Mamdani wins or loses, here’s what we know…
This election marks a breakout moment for young nyc voters
In the June primary election, youth voter engagement was exceptionally high, and a major factor in Mamdani’s victory over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. This week, data analysts like my friend Zachary Donnini at Decision Desk HQ have shared data showing young voters turning out to early vote in the general election at exceptionally high rates (one table from Zenith Research’s Adam Carlson shows young voters doubling their early vote share compared to their share in the 2021 total general election).
The prior notion that young voters are apathetic, don’t vote, and don’t care isn’t true for gen z. In fact, gen z voters have been a crucial part of the storyline in every recent election. While this bloc disaffected from the Democrats in 2024, there’s been relatively high youth voter turnout since 2018. While gen z 1.0 and 2.0 have grown up in different political environments and might have different political preferences, they’re still turning out to vote.
This race has been divisive, even for young people
Gen z voters are not monolithic. And this election has been exceptionally divisive, even amongst young people — both in The Up and Up Community, and in my own. Disagreements have emerged in friend groups, families, places of worship, and online communities over support for one candidate over the other, from Mamdani, to Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. The Cut even published a piece titled ‘New York City’s Mayoral Race is Dividing The Fashion Girlies.’ The candidates, and their supporters, have come under fire. But there are certain truths about this election and what it means for gen z engagement and our politics moving forward that cannot — and should not — be ignored.
Young people want something to vote for, not just against
In a world that feels broken, young people want something to vote for, not just against. Think about every major election since 2016. Mainstream and establishment Democrats have continued to run with an anti-Trump message that quickly grew stale for a generation which has only known a Trumpian status-quo. Being anti-Trump (or in this case, anti-Mamdani) does not mean you are FOR anything. To resonate with gen z, especially the youngest eligible voters in today’s electorate, you need a clear vision for the future. Cuomo was immediately at a disadvantage here, since (as the former governor and son of a former governor), he’s seen as representing the past. So while there are criticisms about the viability of Mamdani’s proposed policies, he’s given many young people a vision of a future that (on paper and in viral social clips) sounds better than their present.
Bold ideas now outweigh practical ones
Some of the biggest critiques of Mamdani are that he’s too young, inexperienced, and that his ideas would be impossible to implement. But I’ve spoken with young Mamdani voters who brush off criticisms that his policies are impractical. As I wrote last week, that doesn’t bother them. They appreciate that he’s offering up a proposal for something different than what we have today, and trust that even if his plans don’t come to fruition, his idealism and willingness to think outside the box will lead to the creation of something novel. This generation looks at President Donald Trump, who rapidly signed executive orders in his first term, and is again reshaping the government, as proof that bold, brash governance is possible. Whether they agree with him or not, he’s defined their political baseline and shaped what they’ve come to expect, even demand, from politicians.
Populism has legs
Populism is built on the idea of two distinct groups: the people vs. the elite. This has been core to Trump’s messaging and appeal since 2016, the first election gen z could vote in. And it’s a playbook Mamdani has also adopted. Gen Z 2.0 grew up and came of age in a post-Covid environment where traditional norms and standards no longer exist. Mamdani doesn’t just embrace that ethos, he embodies it.
It’s necessary to blend a social media strategy with an irl ground game
Just like Trump in 2024, when it comes to media, Mamdani has been everywhere and talked to everyone. He’s gone on every show and created opportunities just for creators to engage with him and his ideas. He’s shown he’s human, that he can hang, and that even if you disagree with him, his ideas, and his rhetoric, that he’s not a disagreeable person. But while his social strategy has been undeniably stellar, it’s been paired with a ground game to match. In fact, many of his most viral videos show him walking around the city, talking with and listening to voters in his community. That matters too. Any digital strategy must complement in person qualities and charisma.
Post October 7th, politics looks really different (and not just for Democrats)
In The Up and Up Community and beyond, I’ve heard many concerns about Mamdani’s past rhetoric on Israel and willingness (or not) to condemn antisemitism. Many young people, especially young Jews, told me that combatting antisemitism and protecting New York City’s Jewish population (the largest in the United States) were their top priorities in this race, and part of why they voted for Cuomo, even if he wasn’t their ideal candidate. One young voter put it bluntly, saying no one in the race “speaks to the interests of gen z & millennial liberal Jews.” Though, of course, there are Jews (including high profile ones) backing Mamdani. And I have heard from gen z voters who actually appreciate Mamdani’s anti-Israel stance and draw a line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism — a question that will continue to serve as a litmus test in our politics. This tension isn’t unique to Democrats; MAGA Republicans are currently facing their own Israel reckoning. Since October 7, I’ve written about how isolating it can feel for young Jews navigating these spaces, and this election has only made that loneliness harder to ignore. I know many young Jews who felt their peers were abandoning them by supporting a candidate who has spoken out so strongly against Israel.
There’s an emerging generational divide in the role of government
While ideas like free buses, rent freezes, and no-cost childcare may seem outlandish to some, for many young people just starting their lives in New York City, the prospect is genuinely appealing. More broadly, the role young people expect government to play in their lives reflects a growing generational divide. Many I’ve spoken with say they want to see more government involvement, particularly at the local level, to improve their quality of life. That may be because they aren’t seeing viable alternative solutions from candidates or business leaders.
The Up and Up’s take: If this election proves anything, it’s that listening and truly understanding where your community is at is key. There is no one way to connect with young people, just like there is no one way to be a politician in today’s political era. Yesterday, New York Magazine published a list of the top 25 young Democrats to watch. Democrat, Republican, or somewhere outside our traditional parties, my bet is on any candidate who can show they *get* what jaded young voters are living through.
Noteworthy reads
Inside Hot Girls for Zohran’s Halloween Party for Zohran & Meet The Hot Girl Behind Hot Girls for Cuomo, Oliva Empson for Vanity Fair
Does Capitalism Need ‘Cool Girls’?, Madison Malone Kircher for The New York Times
Mamdani’s youth support goes beyond New York. For many, he’s now a national leader, Elena Moore for NPR
Politically refreshingly, the man Zohran seems to understand that, a few social/labor uprisings or revolutions notwithstanding, the superfluously rich and powerful have always had the police and military ready to foremost protect their big-money/-power interests, even over the basic needs of the masses.
Even today, the police and military can, and probably would, claim (using euphemistic or political terminology, of course) that they had to bust heads to maintain law and order as a priority during major demonstrations, especially those against economic injustices.
Indirectly supported by a complacent or compliant corporate news-media, which is virtually all mainstream news-media, the absurdly unjust inequities/inequalities can persist.
Therefore, I can imagine there were/are lessons learned from those successful social/labor uprisings — a figurative How to Hinder Progressive Revolutions 101, maybe? — with the clarity of hindsight by the big power/money interests in order to avoid any repeat of such great wealth/power losses.
Meantime, neo-liberals and -conservatives remain overly preoccupied with vocally criticizing one another for their relatively trivial politics and therefore divert attention away from the planet's and humanity’s greatest threats where it actually very-much should and needs to be sharply focused.
A corresponding very large and still growing number of people are too overworked, tired, worried and rightfully angry about such unaffordability thus insecurity for themselves or their family — largely due to insufficient income — to sufficiently criticize and/or boycott Big Business/Industry for the societal damage it needlessly causes/allows, particularly when not immediately observable. And I doubt that this effect is totally accidental, as it greatly benefits the interests of insatiable corporate greed.
We in the Far West live in a virtual corpocracy, regardless of who’s elected prime minister or president. Leaders are elected via the first-past-the-post ballot system, which enables an insidiously covert rule by way of potently manipulative/persuasive corporate and big-monied lobbyists.
Apparently, the superfluous-wealth desires of the few, and especially the one, increasingly outweigh the life-necessity needs of the many. The more they make, all the more they want — nay, need! — to make next time. It’s never enough. ‘We are a capitalist nation, after all,’ the morally lame justification typically goes.
‘Calamity’ Jane Bodine, in the film Our Brand Is Crisis, is probably correct in stating: “If voting changed anything [in favor of the poor and disenfranchised] they’d have made it illegal.”