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This piece is authored by Jack Cocchiarella , a Gen-Z progressive political commentator with over a million followers on YouTube. Join us in following him on YouTube here [ [link removed] ] and subscribing to hear more from him on Substack here [ [link removed] ]!
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I was still in college in New York when our mayor’s race was making national headlines. A disgraced sitting mayor vs a disgraced former governor and a slew of lesser known candidates were running to give New Yorkers a new voice.
One of these lesser known candidates stuck out to me. The world had yet to be exposed to what I saw in this 33-year-old first generation American: the charisma, the vision, the fire. So I had him on my show, to share what I saw with my million-plus YouTube followers.
I may have been one of the first, but I was far from the last to utilize social media to help Zohran Mamdani surge from underdog to official nominee. Content creators, both local and national, went to bat for him in a major way.
For many, it felt like Mamdani was everywhere – figuratively and literally (he walked the length of Manhattan to meet New Yorkers from every borough). But his digital plan was more strategic than just throwing Mamdani on every show or creator’s platform. Each planned appearance showed in-depth insights into how to reach New Yorkers – what platforms they’re on, what shows they watch, and the state of the local creator ecosystem. And what New Yorkers watch, so do others all over the country, slingshotting Mamdani’s campaign into the national news cycle and offering a glimpse into how to win over liberals and progressives alike.
In a city bigger than some countries, facing well-known opponents like Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams was always going to be risky. Mamdani didn’t have the notoriety of Cuomo and Adams, nor the experience of Brad Lander – but he had grit, authenticity, and strategy. He stuck to his message of making New York affordable for all fiercely, but perhaps more importantly, he is unapologetically socialist, never balking at the name-calling, racism, and harassment he faced from Republicans and Democrats alike. His victory showed disillusioned progressives that they still have power, contrasting sharply with the Democratic strategy of ‘running to the middle.’
Beyond keeping a consistent message, Mamdani’s digital team centered creators and used their platforms intentionally, letting Americans see the real him - not rehearsed news bites. Mamdani was authentically relatable, from his wedding photos in a subway to his confusion on the meaning of #wlw. Voters saw him on SubwayTakes, The Late Show, with Emily Ratajkowski, and everywhere in between, staying true to his leftist beliefs throughout the campaign.
Months before the primary, Mamdani went on Jack Cocchiarella’s show to break down exactly how he was planning to change the game in the mayoral race and how Dems need to show up in this moment. He spoke on the importance of doing what’s right, not just doing what polled well – if we wanted to do what was most popular, we might as well just be right-wing ourselves, he said. The far right has spent decades building their online spaces to make their ideas (which are resoundingly unpopular) popular by dominating the media and taking over our devices, and Dems are playing catch up – not entirely successfully. Regardless of policy positions, Mamdani’s campaign provides an example of what every candidate should be doing – connecting with their voters authentically and meeting people where they’re at, while also having fun online and being a human being with a personality.
Mamdani’s TikTok had KamalaHQ vibes with its casual relatability, but each post across his platforms was purposeful and shared his messaging in different ways for diverse audiences. His Instagram features lighthearted and policy-forward videos alike and is full of endorsements from NY representatives, AOC, Bernie, the UAW Union, the NY Working Families Party, and so many more. He released ads in Spanish, Hindi, and Bengali, and printed fliers in even more languages – making his campaign accessible across the most linguistically diverse city in the world [ [link removed] ]. His alliance with Brad Lander to block Cuomo showed personal goals could be set aside for the greater good, and gave us a much-needed public example of Jewish/ Muslim solidarity, while Israel and antisemitism dominate headlines. Even Mamdani’s branding was authentic to his character; a combination of quintessential New York with the fonts, text style, and colors that evoked bodega signs and Metro Cards, and the vibrance of India with the colors of truck art and Bollywood posters were used to showcase Mamdani’s South Asian heritage. A melting pot aesthetic for a melting pot city – proving that he truly represents New York.
Mamdani rallied his city before his primary, inching forward in polls until he was a hair away from breaking Cuomo’s lead. Then, he did it. Final counts say Mamdani won [ [link removed] ] with 56% of the vote with Cuomo at a distant (12 point) second.
Predictably, Mamdani was met with a frankly insane level of islamophobia and general skittishness about socialism from both sides of the aisle (looking at you, Sen. Gillibrand), but his campaign made two things very clear: progressive values resonate with voters, and creators have the power to shift races and drive voter turnout. Personality politics is back, and if candidates want to win, they can’t keep relying on paid ads – they need to be likeable, savvy, and tuned into the internet ecosystem.
Creators. Matter. Creators gave Mamdani digital muscle against establishment funding and can nationalize local elections to coalition-build and keep momentum going (in case you’re looking for another socialist mayor, Omar Fateh [ [link removed] ] is running in Minneapolis). They’re the ballgame now. Creators can help Dems win elections, push messaging, and overall get their shit together online, and the establishment needs to start respecting their platforms, allocating budget, and pulling them into 2026 and 2028 campaigns before we get left behind by the far right (again).
Mamdani’s win should be a guidebook for all Dems moving forward on how to use the digital landscape to run effective campaigns. His efforts achieved what the Harris campaign could not – votes [ [link removed] ] from white, Hispanic, and Asian constituents and middle-to-high income voters. His campaign flipped [ [link removed] ] the norms from the last mayoral campaign as well, incentivizing young people to vote at much higher rates. In a world where individual creators are the biggest source of entertainment, news, and discourse, Zohran Mamdani’s digital campaign stood out as a clear indicator of how Dems should be proceeding – and how far we still have to go.
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