“If I were mayor,” Mamdani promised, “halal would be eight bucks again.”
In his viral ninety-three-second campaign ad, New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani asked New York City street vendors two questions: How much does a plate—and a street vendor permit—cost? The answers: $10, and $22,000, respectively.
As the vendors explained, city limits on the number of permits issued per year force street carts to rent price-gouged permits from resellers. Mamdani added that at the time, four bills had been proposed in the city council addressing the issue, but they had gone without comment from then-Mayor Eric Adams. If he had been in Adams’ place, Mamdani asserts, these issues would have been at the top of his docket.
The advertisement is characteristic of Mamdani’s entire campaign: a viral sensation focused on addressing the everyday consequences of New York City’s rising cost of living. Though relatively unknown at the start of the year, when the video was released, Mamdani’s campaign strategy has reaped massive success; beyond his win in the primary, Mamdani has gone viral, gained national attention, and enlisted more than 75,000 volunteers to support his grassroots campaign. As the general mayoral election approaches on Nov. 4, he has only gained popularity, with the latest polls predicting as large as a 20-percentage point lead over his opponent, former mayor Andrew Cuomo.
But Mamdani’s virality stems from much more than entertainment. His transparent, short-form content makes his platform accessible to his audience—a distinction Brooklyn resident, Mamdani canvasser, and Yale student Sonja Aibel found particularly appealing.
“[The halal ad] was just a really concrete explanation of the fact that all these things are going on behind the scenes that are making it harder for New Yorkers,” Aibel said. “Having someone who’s really smart about policy, understands those patterns, and is going to use that knowledge for New Yorkers and for affordability purposes was really exciting.”
As Aibel emphasized, Mamdani’s campaign platform centered around affordability. Especially in an era of political polarization and policy stagnation, Mamdani’s actionable, nonpartisan approach distinguished itself from the stances of many “big-name” Democrats. His official platform advocates policies like universal childcare, free public transportation, freezing rent, and building affordable housing—all plans to address costs of living and all with strong roots in Mamdani’s democratic socialist background.
“The sentiment right now is a little bit anti-incumbent or anti-establishment,” DeLuca said. “Democrats are really disappointed with their own party, and so electing a traditional Democrat who’s going to do the normal democratic stuff is not enough these days. [Mamdani] has that vibe of, ‘I’m not just another average Democrat. I actually hear you, care about you, and I’m going to try to do stuff differently.’”
Mamdani’s relative youth at only 33-years-old also successfully differentiates him from other prominent Democratic politicians, like 67-year-old Andrew Cuomo and 65-year-old Eric Adams. Between his age and his social media emphasis, Mamdani caters to a contingent of young voters who may feel otherwise disillusioned with the struggling Democratic leadership.
“The biggest thing for a lot of Yale students and young people in general is just that [Mamdani] is a young person,” Riley Getchell ‘27, the Elections Coordinator for Yale Dems, said. “In comparison to the rest of our politicians at the moment, he’s like a spring chicken. His campaign is just bringing so much youthful energy and, honestly, fun back to campaigning.”
Aspects of identity beyond age also played a major role in the race. Mamdani’s opponents often targeted his South Asian, Muslim identity and birthplace abroad in Uganda. In one instance, Andrew Cuomo’s team allegedly photoshopped Mamdani’s beard to appear darker and “more threatening.” In response to the allegations, Cuomo called the flyer a “mistake,” with spokespeople alleging a former aide approved its production. Mamdani turned this racialization on its head, campaigning in different languages and attending cultural events—an impactful approach considering New York City’s immense diversity.
Above all, Mamdani differentiated himself by campaigning in communities, often literally adopting his platform to suit their needs—like when he collaborated with “Deafies for Zohran” to make his campaign accessible to the deaf community—instead of overlooking those he didn’t connect with. The communities he is meant to represent consistently feature at the heart of his campaign, whether in his frequent appearances at different communities’ religious or cultural celebrations, or his hosting a city-wide scavenger hunt that emphasized engagement with local history. Even as his campaign grows bigger, his focus on community-level organizing keeps his image personal and impactful to his constituents.
“I see people canvassing for him, volunteering for him…but I’ve never seen anyone from Cuomo’s side [in my neighborhood],” Luvaina, a public high school student from Queens who asked to be identified by her first name, said. “[It] feels like you know [Mamdani], because he looks like us, he acts like us, he’s very intertwined with our communities. My friends just saw him at a mosque a few days ago; one of my teachers knew him when he was at [The Bronx High School of Science]. He feels very close to us.”
This mercurial rise to political stardom and potential mayorship has left politicians and onlookers alike asking if Mamdani’s strategy can be replicated, and what precisely the Mamdani effect is. At least part of the answer seems to be his appeal to young people.
Data reveals Mamdani’s high level of support among young people: the majority of his 75,000 volunteers are under 35, he won staunch majorities in younger neighborhoods, and analyses generally show a significant increase in ballots cast by those aged 18-34 compared to the last Democratic mayoral primary in New York City.
Youth support means more than their ballots alone. Young people, especially when their capability is communicated to them, can communicate across gaps that politicians famously struggle with. For example, they may have access to those with opposing views that politicians do not, such as close family members.
“What we also saw this year was a lot of young people getting excited, and then convincing their parents to vote,” said Kathryn Gioiosa, the executive director of TREEage, a nonprofit that encourages youth civic engagement and hyperlocal organizing in New York. “We made graphics and information on how to do that, especially, telling them not to vote for Cuomo. We saw that impact. When young people make their voices heard about the local issues in their community, and how much that’s going to impact their future, [it’s] really powerful.”
Witnessing a range of support across demographics can help further convince those who are unsure of supporting a candidate.
“When I wasn’t eligible yet to vote, I still really cared about politics,” Aibel said. “It matters that politicians are accessible to younger people, even those younger than the voting age. [Mamdani] just really resonates across different age groups; my grandparents were really excited to vote for him as well. That broad base of support really meant something to me.”
Beyond their ability to generate political momentum, young people are one of the most vulnerable and impacted demographics by the policies Mamdani proposed. Inflation and general economic anxiety threaten the stability of the job and housing markets before young people can even get their foot in the door.
“Just because they can’t vote doesn’t mean their voices don’t matter, and that they shouldn’t have a say in who represents them,” Gioiosa said. “The people almost most affected by that are young people who want to continue living in the city they grew up in…It is so impossible to find an affordable place to live or [pay for] groceries sometimes, so young people are again one of the most impacted communities by [Mamdani’s] policies.”
Getting civically involved does more than give young people a voice; it also brings them closer to their communities, according to Gioiosa.
“Having people learn about their communities and talk to people even down their block that they’ve never really talked to before was really impactful,” Gioiosa said. “A lot of students said that they were able to connect with their neighbors and the rest of their community over trying to get Zohran elected, and having these conversations around the really local issues in their community, and how Zohran could be a partner in helping to fix them.”
Especially for supporters of the struggling Democratic Party, the energy surrounding Mamdani’s campaign can feel like a glimmer of hope for the future. Yet, generalizing Mamdani’s success beyond New York itself proves difficult. Given the overwhelming Democratic support in New York City, Mamdani has not had to fight through the same partisan noise as politicians in battleground states. DeLuca questioned whether Mamdani’s strategy could work in an environment that was not homogeneously Democratic, but rather mixed across parties like in most major elections—especially in an era of ever-growing political polarization.
Some, such as Founder and Director of Yale Youth Poll Milan Singh ‘26, caution against characterizing Mamdani’s virality as an indicator of broader political support.
“I think people should be cautious in reading too much into online support for Mamdani as indicative of real-world support,” Singh said. “I would guess that a plurality of people, at least nationally, do not know who he is and don’t have opinions of him.”
Even the groundbreaking participation of young people could be a poor sign for Democrats; according to a poll conducted by Yale Youth Poll, 18-21-year-olds nationwide have an overall conservative bent. Singh warned that it will be hard to predict whether this trend will continue without data from the upcoming midterm and 2028 presidential elections.
“It really depends on whether this shift towards Republicans among young people was just a one-off thing,” Singh said. “Are young people going to react to the policies Trump is enacting now and say, ‘Oh, actually, this isn’t what we voted for.’ Or was this a permanent, long-term shift? That question is worth a lot of electoral votes.”
So, where does this leave Democratic supporters looking for hopeful takeaways from Mamdani’s campaign? Regardless of political affiliation, Mamdani’s historic run exemplifies the growing strength of youth participation in politics. His campaign underscores the potential for change that could emerge if politicians acknowledged youth voices, and young people took it upon themselves to get informed and involved in turn.
Luvaina pointed to the importance of education in supporting youth political participation when asked what she would change to increase youth civic engagement.
“Messaging should definitely change, especially through school and education,” Luvaina said. “[Schools should teach] us to be more involved in politics even before we can vote [by] reaching out to representatives and volunteering. [They should] teach us that everything is political.”
Luvaina emphasized the ability of young people to enact change, especially at the local level. She pointed to the example of a classmate who spoke at a New York Campaign Finance Board Youth Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC) hearing, causing the board to allocate more funds to the development of social studies and English curricula in public schools.
Gioiosa emphasized how local politics often go overlooked in civic education curricula. “Schools don’t usually teach anything about local policy or politics; it’s usually very focused on the national level and our federal government,” Gioiosa said. “A lot of [our work] is through civic education workshops, understanding how the actual state legislature works, and then what are the interception points we can use as students and young people and even just the general public to make our voices heard in these different processes.”
Along with getting educated, Gioiosa said students and young people ought to fill the gaps they find in their local representation. This initiative already has nationwide support; the organization Run for Something, which supports young candidates running for state and local office, reported 10,000 new sign-ups after Mamdani’s primary victory.
“Seeing someone be able to do it and take that risk, a lot of other people were also inspired by it,” Lavaina said. “They were inspired to change and take that risk too, because they didn’t feel alone anymore.”
Already, politicians nationwide are starting to take notes from Mamdani.
“I’ve noticed that this semester, the campaigns [that Yale Dems volunteer for] want us to do a little more community outreach and research on the district,” Getchell said. “I think that’s super important and amazing to see, that instead of just focusing on what the word of consultants from DC is, they’re wanting us to look into the community and see specifically how that outreach is going to be felt.”
According to Gioiosa, understanding the intersections between our struggles is key to our collective empowerment. Where much of the Democratic leadership nationwide seems focused on partisan battles, she encourages acknowledging diverse voices and validating the problems we share––as Mamdani did in his campaign. When discourse seems too stratified to break through the noise, perhaps young people offer a solution: they can navigate dissonance and organize in ways elder politicians cannot––or at least have failed to do recently.
“What we’re trying to do at TREEage, and what I see Zohran also trying to do, is trying to build the connections between these issues right now,” Gioiosa said, citing immigration justice, climate activism, and youth civic engagement as an example. “[We’re] trying to build these connections and show that when we do something locally, it translates to the national level and can make a really big impact. All these issues are interconnected, and we need to work together to protect our communities against what is happening and be stronger together.”