How Nyc Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Won Over The Internet

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 26, 2025, 2:27 PM

how nyc mayoral candidate zohran mamdani won over the internet

Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York City’s mayoral race represents more than just a win for the Democratic party; it’s a stunning case study in how authenticity and digital fluency can transform politics. While some may focus primarily on the generational or ideological shift his win represents, I think his victory illustrates something far more significant: how a candidate deeply fluent in social media logics can translate... Zohran Mamdani began the year polling at only about 1%. By June 2025, he had upset former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo by winning the Democratic Primary and was officially named the Democratic nominee for mayor. By election night, November 4th, he had not only helped mobilize the highest mayoral turnout since 1969, but secured the victory with over 50% of the total vote. A virtually unknown state legislator a year ago, Mamdani’s campaign gained incredible momentum over the last 8 months, with media outlets reporting that the social media-savvy candidate’s Instagram engagement rate was 14 times that...

Similarly, Sprout Social found that digital conversation about him outpaced that of Cuomo’s by 30-to-1. This transformation didn’t happen by accident though. It happened because the campaign understood a fundamental truth: the medium matters. Traditional mayoral campaigns have long relied on a familiar playbook: TV ads, mailers, neighborhood events, and, of course, carefully curated endorsements. But Zohran Mamdani’s team brilliantly flipped the script. They built a large and engaged audience online early, leveraged creative short-form video formats, and used social media platforms not as supplementary channels but as their primary engagement infrastructure.

NEW YORK − Some point to his viral social media clips. Others cite his Obama-esque profile, giving young voters something to believe in. Maybe it’s just his dimples. Zohran Mamdani shocked the political and business establishment by winning the Nov. 4 New York City mayoral election as a democratic socialist, leading many to wonder how it happened. In interviews with allies, strategists and observers, Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman from Queens, ran a disciplined campaign across all five boroughs, flanked by an unusually large army of volunteers for a municipal race.

His winning message offered easily understood ideas for cutting the cost of living in the notoriously expensive city and his universal outreach helped win over skeptical constituencies. It's a dramatic shift from moderate Mayor Eric Adams, who won just four years ago, and a flashback to Adams' progressive predecessor, Bill de Blasio, who ran on addressing economic inequality. Amazingly, he then translated that into a real-life victory that will forever change the way elections are fought. Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist who won a commanding upset victory in New York City’s Democratic primary last night, had already won long ago in the eyes of the Internet. Many pundits and pollsters forecast an inevitable triumph for the scandal-scarred Andrew Cuomo—who resigned as New York’s governor in 2021 after facing sexual harassment allegations from multiple women—on the basis of his name recognition... But Cuomo’s campaign, despite his billionaire-funded super Pac blasting ads over and over again on TV, was never able to make any headway organically, unlike the campaign of his main competitor, Mamdani.

The New York State assemblyman and former rapper used social media to aptly highlight his telegenic smile, progressive values, and erudite sense of humor, which not only captivated audiences online but motivated them to... Mamdani, who is on a first-name basis with New Yorkers, revolutionized the race before he even entered it. Prior to his official announcement in October 2024, he did a soft launch criticizing Mayor Eric Adams on Subway Takes, the oft-viral account that has a mass following online—but also enough legitimacy to do... Commenters in July already supported him, with one saying, “Zohran for mayor!” Mamdani’s campaign transcended expectations in the mayoral election, and his primary victory—a surprise only to those not paying attention online—is ripe with... From his first foray into the campaign, Mamdani has consistently outperformed his competitors with his social media usage in a way that is reminiscent of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s groundbreaking victory against Joe Crowley in 2018—but... His humor, wit, candor, and linguistic abilities were on full display, alongside his telegenic face and stylish wardrobe.

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. You can just tweet Zohran Mamdani's name and immediately get 1000 likes. The sentence above has been tried and tested, becoming the reason for several dozen viral posts. Zohran Mamdani, one of New York City's Democratic mayoral candidates, has been at the center of internet fervor for months leading up to the Democratic primary election taking place Tuesday, June 24. From influencer endorsements to "extremely wearable" merch, Mamdani has led a digital campaign that caught eyes and mobilized voters. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, is the leading favorite in a race against Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor who resigned in disgrace back in 2021 following allegations of sexual harassment.

A poll released on Monday shows Mamdani passing Cuomo in a ranked-choice voting simulation, with Mamdani winning an estimated 52 percent against Cuomo's 48 percent. The survey, conducted by Emerson College Polling, PIX11, and The Hill, found that support for Mamdani surged over the last five months, from 1 percent to 32 percent. And it was over these last five months that millions of social media feeds were flooded by Mamdani's presence. People in New York City will recognize the facets of his campaign immediately: Mamdani's name written in blue-and-orange tone bubble letters; grainy, aesthetic video footage of the candidate walking the length of Manhattan on... In these posts across the internet, Mamdani highlights what he hopes to deliver to New Yorkers: rent freezes, city-subsidized grocery stores, fare-free buses, and universal childcare. The candidate has spoken out for trans youth and mental health, protested against the war in the Middle East, condemned ICE snatching New Yorkers off the streets, and suggested wealthy New York corporations could...

Amazingly, he then translated that into a real-life victory that will forever change the way elections are fought. Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist who won a commanding upset victory in New York City’s Democratic primary last night, had already won long ago in the eyes of the Internet. Many pundits and pollsters forecast an inevitable triumph for the scandal-scarred Andrew Cuomo—who resigned as New York’s governor in 2021 after facing sexual harassment allegations from multiple women—on the basis of his name recognition... But Cuomo’s campaign, despite his billionaire-funded super Pac blasting ads over and over again on TV, was never able to make any headway organically, unlike the campaign of his main competitor, Mamdani. The New York State assemblyman and former rapper used social media to aptly highlight his telegenic smile, progressive values, and erudite sense of humor, which not only captivated audiences online but motivated them to... Mamdani, who is on a first-name basis with New Yorkers, revolutionized the race before he even entered it.

Prior to his official announcement in October 2024, he did a soft launch criticizing Mayor Eric Adams on Subway Takes, the oft-viral account that has a mass following online—but also enough legitimacy to do... Commenters in July already supported him, with one saying, “Zohran for mayor!” Mamdani’s campaign transcended expectations in the mayoral election, and his primary victory—a surprise only to those not paying attention online—is ripe with... From his first foray into the campaign, Mamdani has consistently outperformed his competitors with his social media usage in a way that is reminiscent of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s groundbreaking victory against Joe Crowley in 2018—but... His humor, wit, candor, and linguistic abilities were on full display, alongside his telegenic face and stylish wardrobe. (He is the only male candidate with multiple rings and jewelry, which, while himself solidly millennial, acts as a nod to Gen-Z supporters.) Sitting on the subway and holding a MetroCard as a microphone, Zohran Mamdani had a hot take for New York City: He should be its next mayor.

The scene was from a June “Subway Takes” TikTok video that amassed more than 3 million views — part of a broader push by Mamdani to meet voters where they lived online. By the time his grassroots campaign reached primary day, he had won the backing of major social media figures like Emily Ratajkowski and engaged with voters through popular accounts like Pop Crave. Thousands expressed enthusiasm for his candidacy in comments on his dozens of social media videos, which experts say pitched his platform and personality to voters so convincingly that he outpaced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in polls before beating him in first-choice votes in the ranked-choice primary. (It may take a week or longer for the winner to be declared.) When Mamdani, a 33-year-old state lawmaker, announced his mayoral candidacy last fall, he was little-known and considered a long shot.

He was a self-described democratic socialist and deeply critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza — factors that made him an unlikely Democratic candidate at a time when the party was veering away from left-leaning... But in the months leading up to Tuesday’s election, Mamdani skyrocketed from obscurity to internet fame, amassing more than 1 million followers on Instagram, as well as hundreds of thousands on TikTok and X. Though his viral social media campaign has echoes of Kamala Harris’ own meme-filled presidential run, analysts say Mamdani’s exhibited key differences that helped usher him to an apparent victory. Zohran Mamdani is, quite literally, everywhere. The 34-year-old New York state assemblyman, who in recent months has ascended from relative political anonymity to become the presumptive winner of New York City’s November mayoral race, has already graced the covers of... He’s sparred with newscasters on CNN and Fox News, riffed with Stephen Colbert, and bantered like his life depended on it with the hosts of The View.

Mamdani’s ubiquity didn’t start with print pages or broadcast interviews. Much of that conventional media exposure, and Mamdani’s growing celebrity, is a collective byproduct of one single element of his mayoral campaign: a really, really good social strategy. One of Mamdani’s first viral videos, a 2024 supercut of short conversations between the assemblyman and New York–based Trump voters, laid the groundwork for a subsequent mayoral campaign built on clever, conversational clips. See: Very Cold Mamdani, emerging from a polar plunge in the Atlantic Ocean with a vow to freeze rent on rent-stabilized apartments. See also: Sneakers Mamdani, walking the length of Manhattan to advocate for accessible politicians; Citi Bike Mamdani, responding to a bystander’s howl of “Communist” before pedaling off as cameras roll; or Red Rose Mamdani,... Yes, the #ZaddyZohran TikTok hashtag is nearly as prolific as the candidate who inspires it.

But as Mamdani acknowledged during a recent sit-down at his campaign’s spartan Manhattan headquarters, his outsized ubiquity also has its downsides: There’s the ire of President Trump, who has denounced Mamdani as “a 100%... Then there’s the risk of violence against Mamdani or his campaign staff; it’s a concern that increased markedly following the recent assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, and, for Mamdani, means “I’m never alone... But for someone as everywhere as Mamdani, hunkering down in the secure confines of an office can only last so long. Forty-five minutes, to be exact, before our interview concludes and Mamdani (security detail in tow) gamely joins WIRED’s photographers on a bustling Manhattan street, posing inside a yellow cab and walking to and fro... It would be an understatement to say that passersby took note. They did take selfies—at least five in fewer than 10 minutes.

They also took campaign materials, seemingly so inspired by a mere glimpse of Zaddy Zohran that they were compelled to join his 80,000-strong army of volunteers. And, in typical New York fashion, they did all of this with no semblance of personal shame, screaming Mamdani’s name from the open windows of office towers and cars; hooting at him from across... Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, right, and his wife, Rama Duwaji, react to supporters during an election night watch party, Tuesday in New York. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and person of South Asian descent — as well as the youngest in over a century — to...

"The future is in our hands," Mamdani declared to roaring applause Tuesday night at a victory celebration in Brooklyn. "My friends, tonight we have toppled a political dynasty." The 34-year-old, Ugandan-born Democratic socialist defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an Independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday's election, according to a race call by the Associated Press. It's a remarkable ascent for Mamdani, who was a relatively unknown state assemblymember representing a district in Queens when he entered the crowded mayoral race last year. He went on to win June's Democratic primary by 12 percentage points, quickly becoming one of the country's most popular and polarizing politicians along the way.

How Nyc Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Won Over The Internet

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