Mamdani’s youth momentum goes past New York. It’s national : NPR

It's been years since Democratic voter Leah Ashe held out hope for a politician, but that recently changed.

“He was the only bright spot for me this year,” she said. “[He] wants to listen to the people he wants to manage.”

The 26-year-old is referring to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York who has focused his campaign on affordability issues. For this reason, he easily gets Ash's vote – unless she lived in the city where he fled. Instead, she lives more than 1,200 miles away.

“I would like to believe that one day there might be a Zohran Mamdani in Gulfport, Missouri, but I don’t think that will ever happen, at least not in my lifetime,” Ashe said, acknowledging her state’s deep conservative roots. “But it gives me hope that it can happen in other places around the country.”

In just a few months, Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist, went from promising fringe candidate to national figure, securing an upset election victory. June primary, in which voters ages 18 to 29 had highest turnout among all age groups.

Now, ahead of Election Day, with polls showing him with a clear lead over his closest rival, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mamdani is counting on that youth coalition to emerge again. But his promise to address rising costs appears to be resonating with young people far beyond the five boroughs. It's a message that many Gen Zers and millennials feel speaks to them. their most pressing problems at a time when many feel hopeless about their leaders and yearn for new voices willing to break with political norms.

“When a candidate can speak to the concerns of a population and validate those concerns… I think it has a lot of influence, especially when it comes to young people,” said Ruby Belle Booth, who studies young voters at the nonpartisan research organization CIRCLE.

“They really feel heard and respected,” she added. “I think any candidate can do this and be successful. But now it’s Mamdani, and before that, perhaps it was [President] Trump.”

Local movement in defense of Mamdani goes national

Even though Ash lives in the ruby ​​red state of Mississippi, she says she has always voted Democratic. However, in recent years she has become disillusioned and ignored by political leaders.

This feeling is compounded by her own economic situation. The pandemic interrupted her college education and she struggled to find work, forcing her to return home. Now, years later, even with a job, she cannot afford her own home.

Giving up that goal was a tough pill to swallow, she said.

“When [my mom] she was in her twenties, she was married, and by that time she and her father had a house, and I can’t even afford to rent in a city in Mississippi,” she said, adding that she saw housing prices are rising despite the fact that the state has one of highest poverty rate in the country. “It’s a little demoralizing.”

But Ash hopes that if Mamdani wins, it will send a signal to Democrats in other cities across the country to take issues like housing affordability more seriously.

Focus on the economy and breaking the status quo

Mamdani campaigned on many promises, including around housing – Specifically, he promises to freeze rents for rent-stabilized housing and build 200,000 new apartments for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. These proposals are part of his broader an ambitious platform aimed at reducing pricesFrom creating city grocery stores to free city buses and child care.

His critics on the left say the ideas are unrealistic, even in a liberal bastion like New York. Among conservatives, including Trump, Mamdani's views have been characterized as extreme or dangerous.

These warnings, however, do not seem to faze many young Americans, who seem most drawn to his message, despite any political labels from the Democrats or the Republican Party.

“Mamdani is a candidate who in many ways is actively challenging the status quo rather than representing it,” Booth said.

She points to CIRCLE survey This spring, it was found that only 16% of voters under 30 believed democracy was working for them, which Booth said is not a sign that these voters are as enthusiastic about politics as usual.

Although they have vastly different ideologies, Booth argues that Trump has embraced a similar anti-establishment mentality in the past year. Economic concerns were the top issue for 18- to 29-year-olds last fall, and voters who prioritized the economy were also more likely to vote for the president. according to a CIRCLE analysis of 2024 AP VoteCast data..

“I think young people, as we've seen, don't really think about politics in terms of those two parties, but rather evaluate it more in terms of the issues that they really care about,” Booth said.

Affordability issues should cross party lines, says 26-year-old Democrat Emily Wilson. Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, she also supports Mamdani from afar and says she often discusses politics with her co-workers at the spa where they work.

“Grocery prices, bus prices and rent are issues that affect both Democrats and Republicans,” Wilson said.

While she acknowledges that some people may view Mamdani's candidacy as too radical outside of New York, she argues that such an economic message can be effective if delivered by a candidate who knows the community.

“I think that if a resident of Florida or Texas spoke about the same problems as Zoran [is talking about]I think it will have the same appeal,” she said.

Up north, in a small town near Ann Arbor, Michigan, 25-year-old Daisy Lupa feels the same way. As someone who has been reluctant to support national Democrats in recent years, she says Mamdani's campaign is encouraging and believes many of his proposals could help communities like hers.

“I think a lot of the things he's trying to push in New York… are things we need even more in rural areas and even more in the Midwest because we don't have that at all,” she said.

“It’s imperfect in New York,” she added. “He's not here.”

Cautious Optimism

Of course, the big question for those who may actually vote in the New York City mayoral election is whether Mamdani can truly solve the affordability crisis.

For 32-year-old Dillon Robertson, money is a constant concern. He goes to college in Connecticut and will graduate with about $250,000 in student loans. He supports Mamdani and says many of his money-saving suggestions could make his life easier, but at the same time he worries whether it's all possible.

“A lot of what he says sounds beautiful. But I'm both wondering, can he do it? Will he be able to pull it off? – he said. “Or [is] Is this some sort of Band-Aid on a leaky ship?”

However, he admits that if there are options to keep going or try something new, he is willing to try.