The revolution will be livestreamed: How Zohran Mamdani won the NYC primary online
Socialist -year-old Zohran Mamdani's primary mastery shocked the Democratic Party establishment this June as his campaign played into the hands of an evolving and chronically online New York City electorate Scrolling through Mamdani's social media his TikTok and Instagram pages resemble that of a New York City influencer From the film-like filters and consistent fonts on his vertical videos to the cameos from celebrities including model Emily Ratajkowski and comedian Bowen Yang Mamdani's videos have amassed millions of views However if his social media strategy wasn't enough to attract voters' attention the primary colors of his campaign graphics are likely to turn heads Mamdani's cobalt blue poster-like red and taxi-cab or MetroCard yellow are bright compared to former Gov Andrew Cuomo's muted red white and blue color scheme Mamdani's politics are a departure from the establishment Democratic Party as the self-described Democratic socialist campaigned on taxing the and creating government-run grocery stores among other radical proposals If Mamdani wins in November he will not just become the first Muslim mayor but the first millennial mayor of New York City DEMS AT A CROSSROADS AS ESTABLISHMENT PLANS 'PROJECT ' WHILE SOCIALIST CANDIDATE WINS NYC MAYORAL PRIMARYRep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N Y is the youngest woman ever elected to the U S Congress She was years old when she took office in in a blue wave that elected progressive Squad members during President Donald Trump's first midterm elections DEM SOCIALIST'S NYC PRIMARY UPSET SIGNALS 'GENERATIONAL' SHIFT IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY STRATEGISTS SAYKnown by her supporters and detractors as AOC the progressive Democrat was quick to seize on her millennial social media sixth sense She has made plenty of headlines from her off-script Instagram lives and stories as her supporters and constituents chime in with questions for the Bronx and Queens representative The social media strategy is one used by influencers but in an ever-evolving media landscape more politicians have seized on viral moments to send their message to the masses Trump successfully used new media during the presidential electoral process appearing on long-form podcasts and creating viral TikTok videos Ocasio-Cortez along with her fellow Democratic socialist Sen Bernie Sanders endorsed Mamdani ahead of New York City's primary voting process On primary day in New York City Ocasio-Cortez hosted an Instagram Live conversation with Mamdani who had a simple but effective message If I win that rent's getting frozen If Andrew Cuomo wins the rent's going up On the Friday before the poll Mamdani walked the entire length of Manhattan shaking hands with ordinary New Yorkers and supporters alike However Mamdani didn't just walk through Manhattan he documented the journey bringing his followers along for the ride just like an influencer would The walk from Inwood to Battery Park has become somewhat of a rite of passage for New York City influencers over the past sparse years as walking clubs like City Girls Who Walk NYC and Hot Girl Walks have gained popularity in the fitness space Mamdani appeared on the popular Subway Takes podcast sharing his campaign pitch to Kareem Rahma's million followers Additionally he joined -year-old progressive Democrat star David Hogg for man-on-the-street-style interviews in Washington Square Park the site of popular TikTok series like What s Poppin Hogg in recent days left the Democratic National Committee DNC after stirring up tension over his million plan to primary older incumbent Democrats he commented were asleep at the wheel through his outside political group Leaders We Deserve Mamdani also created his own viral moments on the campaign trail riding side-by-side on CitiBikes with NYC Comptroller Brad Lander whom Mamdani cross-endorsed on the ranked-choice ballot to secure his win over Cuomo and when he posted his subway-to-courthouse wedding photos covered by The Cut While another such article by The Cut It Must Be Nice to Be a West Village Girl by Brock Colyar systematically articulated the changing landscape and demographic of New York City Mamdani also met outer borough voters including older and immigrant New Yorkers online One week ago nowadays we shocked the establishment and redrew the political map of New York City with a campaign relentlessly focused on the requirements of working people Mamdani noted in a social media video speaking directly to his followers and supporters alike In the video Mamdani explained how he won back voters countless had written off including Trump voters and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams voters Mamdani noted he built a coalition campaign by speaking voters' languages or at least trying to to reflect the mosaic of New York City Speaking in Hindi in another two-minute video with his signature filter Mamdani even broke down ranked-choice voting ahead of the primary by pouring juice into cups with his and Cuomo's faces photoshopped on top to show how consolidating his vote could land Mamdani a triumph and ranked-choice voting did just that
