A smiling, smartly-dressed young man grips the handrail on New York City’s crowded MTA. At first glance, he’s just another commuter on his way to work, making polite conversation with people around him. He speaks with confidence but exudes a friendly energy rarely found in the city. It’s none other than 33-year-old Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani has been in the national spotlight as one of three front-runner candidates in New York City’s mayoral race. He’s a self-proclaimed “progressive muslim immigrant” and “democratic socialist,” two identities which seem to threaten conservatives, including Donald Trump, who view him as a radical “communist.” In addition to these titles, his youth and progressive platform have added to his national attention.
Mamdani may seem like an unlikely candidate for the future mayor of New York City. His main opponents, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, certainly think so, citing his lack of political experience. Cuomo, in particular, compares his own tenure in politics to Mamdani’s lack thereof, contending that that makes him a more qualified candidate. Nevertheless, Mamdani’s popularity is undeniable: despite facing formidable opponents, the polls show support for him stands at 45%, followed by Cuomo at 28% and Sliwa at 15%. Amidst the competition among the three candidates, the center lies in a feud between Cuomo and Mamdani, specifically. Although they both ran in the Democratic primary, the two differ both in terms of priorities, current finances and relationship to the federal government. An upper-middle class Muslim immigrant, Mamdani has made housing, affordability and early childhood & education his main focal points. With a net worth fifty times that of Mamdani’s, Cuomo, though running on a platform of similar issues, emphasizes public safety, economic development and anti-semitism as his main concerns. Though both are running on left-leaning policies, conservatives and centrist Democrats consider Mamdani’s platform more radical, putting him under much scrutiny by mainstream conservative figures such as Donald Trump.
These differences have resulted in an appeal to different voters. All of this must be taken in the context of a federal administration currently fueled by the glorification of an antiquated past and unrealistic economic promises. What Cuomo and his supporters say makes Mamdani an unreliable candidate is exactly what makes him such an appealing one: his youth and his visions for the future. In a time when the past is so emphasized (unrealistically so), people are seeking a candidate who not only affirms the economic and social struggles his constituency faces but also prioritizes solutions for those struggles. Though it may be too early to tell whether Mamdani’s inexperience will pose an issue, his promises are inspiring hope for the future, as evidenced by his strong support among young voters. He promises affordability while Trump’s tariffs devastate businesses. He proposes freezing rent to combat homelessness, whereas Trump is enacting plans to institutionalize the homeless. To put it simply and in his own words, Mamdani is “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.” To young voters across America, who are more likely to vote blue, Mamdani is the light in the darkness we’ve been looking for.
As a young voter myself, the outcome of and emerging changes after the last presidential election crushed much of the faith I initially had in American Democracy and possibilities for the future. Even as I write this, funding for research and higher education is decreasing, the cost of living is increasing everywhere and policy plans like Project 2025 instill fear of an outdated, oppressive system of governance. The current state of political affairs has left me and many of my peers with an increasingly bleak outlook for the present and the future. We wonder if we will find jobs after graduation or even a steady income. We hope that the major we’ve chosen secures us a life after college. We dream of affordable housing and grocery prices. For adolescents who are trying to transition to and integrate into mainstream adult life, we’re struggling to see the way to do so.
That is why it is with cautious optimism that so many young people are watching Zohran Mamdani. His promise of a sustainably affordable, liveable New York may signal a new era of politicians. It symbolizes an era where politicians are unafraid of and won’t back down from formidable challenges from the federal government and perhaps a new influx of social and economic benefits for America’s middle and working class. In such turbulent times, it is important that young people watch out for those who represent our best interests and seem to be able to follow through on their promises. As one of the youngest candidates for New York City’s Mayor ever, Mamdani may even mark the beginning of a rise in young, ambitious politicians determined to deliver a better life and a brighter future for America.
Contact the editors responsible for this article: Caitlin Donovan, Avery Finley
