Zohran Mamdani and The Politics of Social Media

Over the past few months, Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo have been in a heated battle for the prestigious title of mayor of New York City.

With a background as the former governor of New York, Cuomo was supported by many through the merit of experience alone. Mamdani, a fresh face to the scene without the same history, had the odds stacked against him. 

However, as of Nov. 4, Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City. He has broken new ground as the first Muslim mayor as well as its youngest one in over a century. Mamdani has won over the hearts of New Yorkers and Americans across the nation.

Against such startling odds, how did he achieve this feat?

Though his opponents harped on his age as a reason not to vote for him, his millennial status may ultimately have been what led to him winning the race. As a young man himself, he understands where the people congregate, communicate and get informed about the world at large. 

It’s not Union Square, it’s social media.

Clips for Candidacy

In June of 2025, Cuomo and Mamdani were both fighting for the front-running spot in the Democrats’ primary elections. Whoever won this primary would get selected to run in the general election under the Democratic party, going up against the Independent and Republican parties’ candidates for a chance to be mayor.

Cuomo wanted to win, and more than that, his reputation needed a win. After being governor of New York for 10 years, Andrew Cuomo resigned in 2021 amidst sexual harassment allegations from multiple different women.

In a debate during the primaries, Mamdani brings this fact up, and the clip goes viral. Many responded to the clip on social media.

Garnering millions of views and thousands of interactions on X, this was just the beginning of how Mamdani’s use of social media skyrocketed his campaign to success.

The Aesthetics of Advocacy 

Across Instagram, TikTok, X and many other platforms, Mamdani held a tight line of promotional content. 

With a personable air, consistent colors and a touch of lightheartedness, his posts began to garner more attention.

In many of his videos, Mamdani talks to New Yorkers on the street in a familiar “TikTok interview” style. He keeps it short and sweet with consistent coloring and editing throughout. His modernity is relatable. Our opinions of things and people have to be grabbed in just a couple seconds before we inevitably scroll, and Mamdani understands this. No young voter bothers to read op-eds or check the flyers in their mail.  

Mamdani brings the messages to them in a neatly packaged and aesthetically pleasing 30 second video. 

Hope for the Future

At thirty-four years old, Mamdani understands the struggles of people like him. He knows how to reach them, connect with them and make them feel a sense of hope.

Comparatively, Cuomo’s methods of campaigning have been more provocative and aggressive than anything else. Using AI-generated ads to slander Mamdani rather than promote his own policies, his campaign hasn’t been as impactful on the youth.

Even from a sheer numbers perspective, the millions of views and interactions across all of Mamdani’s platforms versus Cuomo’s are easy to see.

As a generation of short attention spans and superficiality, small things like these matter to us. We click on the video with one million views rather than one hundred. We prefer something that looks nice over something generated by a machine.

It helps that Mamdani is a charismatic man, but his methods of messaging are ones that many older politicians fail to see. His campaign and his policies have brought a refreshing light to the political scene. One that may finally appeal to the young voters of America.

Let us know your thoughts by mentioning @VALLEYmag on X!

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