How Zohran Mamdani Won By Being Everywhere From Tiktok To Nyc Streets

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. Some point to his viral social media clips. Some say it’s the dimples. But Mamdani won with a disciplined campaign across all five boroughs. Mamdani, 34, will be NYC’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor.

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 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.

From Emily Ratajkowski to SubwayTakes, Mamdani’s digital strategy focused on NYC TikTok influencers seems to have paid off. NEW YORK: New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who claimed victory last night in the Democratic Party primary, didn’t win by cozying onto Jimmy Fallon’s and Stephen Colbert’s late-show couches like the many... While it’s true that he did go on The Late Show, it wasn’t traditional appearances that pushed the 33-year-old Mamdani across the finish line. He also discussed taxing the 1% in a Subway car for the SubwayTakes TikTok series and highlighted the New York Taxi Workers Alliance from the back of a cab for the Keep the Meter... When creator Jake Schroeder sang a ballad urging voters to choose “hot guy Zohran” over “dusty” [former New York Governor] Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani reposted the video to his own TikTok account with 411,000 followers. Mamdani’s choice to go beyond traditional talk shows to collaborate with NYC influencers painted him as a “real New Yorker” by speaking with relatable figures in relatable settings.

He’s not the only candidate using the app to appeal to young voters and command cultural conversations; 27% of major party candidates used TikTok during 2024’s federal and state general elections. From filming with NYC-based model Emily Ratajkowski on election morning to taking queer culture tests in a Brooklyn park, here are five ways Mamdani worked with NYC’s influencers to push his campaign. 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... Zohran Mamdani’s rapid rise in New York City has gone hand in hand with his savvy social media presence and easy navigation of the universe of influential podcasters, YouTubers and TikTokers. So with just one week to go until Election Day, Mamdani decided to bring many of those content creators into his campaign headquarters, hosting a news conference exclusively for influencers and giving them a... The assembled creators asked Mamdani in-depth questions about education, immigration and child care policies — often with direct tie-ins to their own personal stories or platforms. Many also took the chance to ask questions he was unlikely to receive in any traditional media setting. Reggie B, a Brooklyn-based hip-hop recording artist, asked such a question.

“In your time as mayor,” he began, “are you planning on providing bisexual girlfriends to everyone in New York City?” Amid much laughter, Mamdani stood and smiled. It was the only question he declined to answer. Post-election analyses are typically dominated by theorizing about what the election means and what it was about. Was it immigration? Prices?

Housing? There are lots of takes, but not a lot of real information. Our approach to overcoming this trap is twofold. First, we collaborated with the folks at Nontoxic Media, a content monitoring firm, to figure out what the NYC mayoral candidates actually talked about, not just what made for interesting Twitter chatter or struck... Via the algorithmic wizardry of Nontoxic’s flagship tool, Sonar, which produces transcripts and topic analysis of ingested content, we assembled a picture of the distribution and frequency of topics featured in candidate videos, including... Second, we surveyed NYC voters.

What did they think the election was about? Why did they vote? What did they hear about from candidates? We ran this poll in the last days of the election to try to understand voters’ perceptions on the ground. The gap between “what you say” and “what voters hear” can be wide. We’ve previously put forth theories about “crowding out” effects — that a party (or candidate) with too many priorities can dilute their message.

The NYC mayoral election offers an opportunity to test this theory and directly compare what candidates talked about with what voters believed they were focused on. Before we get into the 2025 mayoral election, let’s take a little walk down memory lane. Digitas strategist Manisha Dayananda examines how Zohran Mamdani’s creative, hyper-local campaign transformed cultural connections into social media rocket-fuel. A New York City mayoral candidate has one job: win New Yorkers’ hearts and votes. Seems simple enough, but New York hosts more than 8.5 million people speaking 200 languages, where almost 70% are multicultural non-white individuals and nearly 10% identify as LGBTQ+. Marketers are all too aware of the client saying they want to target “everyone” with their campaign.

Not. A. Helpful. Brief. It is also not how to win an election. Broad, singular moves have no hope of resonating with everyone, and sometimes anyone.

Knowing this, Mamdani activated differently for every niche audience. Most importantly, he showed up to secure their loyalty across the five boroughs. In the end, two million New Yorkers rallied to vote, the most since 1969, with Mamdani securing an overwhelming majority. If there’s one thing New Yorkers can’t stand, it’s someone complaining about their city… unless it’s them, of course. Mamdani won their hearts by consistently reaffirming how special the city is, but he also returned to marketing basics to identify their top pain point. What’s up, fam!

I hope you all enjoyed the week, and if you’re in the NYC area, you managed to stay cool during the Heatwave! Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of taking over Rachel Karten ‘Link in Bio’ Tuesday newsletter! I shared my Instagram Saved strategy, thoughts on “World-building” in social, and more! Check it out here: Zohran Mamdani's masterclass social campaign More content, trends, and brand moves that grabbed my attention.

“My marketing team told me I had to record more trends for my book.” Actress Alyson Stoner sarcastically used internet trends to promote her new book “See I’m Well Adjusted.” In the video, she... It’s pretty entertaining. AI Videos are getting too real. Video generators like Google’s Veo 3 are pushing the limits of what generative video can do, creating content that blurs the line between reality and simulation. It’s lowkey getting out of hand. At first glance, it’s getting harder and harder to tell if a video is real.

People Also Search

• How Zohran Mamdani won by being everywhere from TikTok to NYC streets
• TikTok over talk shows: How Zohran Mamdani won with NYC influencers
• How NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani won over the internet
• How Zohran Mamdani Campaigned Like a Creator and Won New York
• Inside Zohran Mamdani's private influencer briefing - NBC News
• How Zohran Mamdani Won - Searchlight Institute
• Zohran Mamdani won by speaking everyone's language - The Drum
• How Social Media Videos Fueled Zohran Mamdani's Success
• The People's Strategy: How Zohran Mamdani Won Social