With a high-stakes New York City Mayoral election going on today, people’s eyes are suddenly opening to new potential futures for the Democratic party.
Over the last few months we’ve watched a New York State assemblymember, Zohran Mamdani, make a Cinderella-run at the Democratic Mayoral Candidacy. He started out in the single digits last year, but some most recent polls place him ahead of disgraced former NY governor Andrew Cuomo in the race for the Democratic nomination.
Mamdani’s progressive politics, along with his high engagement numbers among young voters, may indicate a shift away from the DNC of the 2020s. What politicians have seen in this election is that voters under 30 (66% of whom are registered democrats) have no allegiance to political names, and are unafraid to do their research. Mamdani’s campaign has been fueled by donations from small individual donors (his maximum $8 million in campaign fundraising came from over 20,000 donors) a record-breaking volunteer base, and an Instagram account with over 900 thousand followers at the time of writing. For the first time in a LONG time, this campaign feels like it’s being run by the people, for the people, that along with Mamdani’s progressive policies makes it feel like a wave is shifting.
This is a generation of voters whose political involvement has been been overcast by the fascist shadow of Donald Trump, in which older voters don’t seem to mind his extensive criminal rap sheet, bigoted remarks, and his large support from corporate super PACs. Young voters are able to recognize that this politician’s morals alone discount him from being their president.
Then, we look at the NYC Democratic primary and its hard not to draw parallels between Cuomo’s sexual-assault accused past and Donald Trump’s. Its hard not to draw parallels between Cuomo’s receipt of $25 million from corporate super PACs, many of whom also funded Trump’s 2024 campaign.
The truth is: young voters want politicians they can trust. They -sorry, I’m going to switch pronouns here- we, were raised in a political childhood of unity, decency, and trust. Of course we watched our fair share of partisan bullying and leader missteps, but far and wide the politics of the 2000s was something to point at and be proud of, a reason for national pride.
What Mamdani represents in this election is more than a potential shift of democrats back towards the left (because, let’s be honest, they haven’t been there in DECADES). Instead, he represents a shift in ideals for US politics moving forward. As younger Americans reach voting age tired of being used by billionaire politicians, they want people who are going to stand up and fight for equality, morality, and those who they can trust to make the best decisions domestically and internationally.
We stand right now at a crossroads. One where working and middle class voters across the country are outraged both at the GOP’s spiral into a cult-fueled carnival, as well as the DNC’s poor attempts at keeping the elephants in their cage. I think Mamdani represents a choice for Democrats across the country: when the MAGA show has run its course, will you find yourself still pathetically watching from the sidelines, or will you be kitted up to fight back?