Zohran Kwame Mamdani first began his political journey by being a State Assemblyman for Astoria, Queens from 2020. From October 23rd, 2024 he launched his campaign for New York City Mayor as a Democratic Socialist.

For most, if you asked who Zohran Mamdani was during 2024, most people would say that they didn’t know the name, compared to his opponents, such as Curtis Sliwa, Eric Adams, and Andrew Cuomo, who were a popular New York politician, New York City Mayor and New York Governor, respectively. 

Despite this, against Andrew Cuomo and Brad Lander, much more well known candidates, he won the Primary election for Democrats in June of 2025 with 56.4% of the vote against Andrew Cuomo with 43.6% of the vote. He continued campaigning from that point on and by the time November’s election came around, Zohran Mamdani won the election with 50.3% of the popular vote and 75% of young people, aged 18-29 vote.

Student Opinion Trends Positive

In this election, young voters turnout increased from 23% to 28%, a significant increase in election turnout in New York City history. So how did Mamdani have such a stark rise in popularity?

If you asked an Edison student now, it would be hard to come across someone who doesn’t know who Zohran Mamdani is. The Edison Light asked students how Mamdani caught the attention of young people and voters.

“I’ve seen Zohran Mamdani a lot on social media such as Instagram and Tikok, alongside news articles. Despite the backlash for his campaign I can see how he touched the hearts of many young voters across NYC. I believe Mamdani got the attention of young voters by promising changes and policies that relate to and are a benefit to the young voters of NYC, such as free universal childcare and affordable housing, and the next generation of New Yorkers want a more affordable New York,” said Tasbir Mumtahin, a sophomore. 

“I first heard about him online on a video speaking about his policies and essentially why it would be in New York’s best interest to vote for him as a mayor,” said Kashfia Naiym, a junior.

“I know that young people want a change in this economy. Many students use transportation such as buses and trains to go to school, and after Mamdani said that he wants a city where the people can afford to live, I believe that was the very first step in getting the youths attention. Next is his personality. He uses public transportation like a normal guy. He doesn’t have any security guards with him, he is acting like a regular New Yorker taking a bus. That is what makes him unique from other people because he acts like us, he doesn’t drive limos or fancy cars. And lastly his kindness. He is kind to other people and he is very funny,” said Leslie Ferrer, a junior. 

Zohran Mamdani utilized online platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, creatively and critically, to expand his campaign and to gain support.

Approximately 95% of New York teenagers, aged from 13-17, use social media almost every single day. These videos would have increased their chances of encountering Mamdani-related posts and influence their views, and potentially the views of family members.

Mamdani’s videos and campaigning mostly consisted of him interacting with constituents, distributing campaign-related information and creating videos with catchy music, speaking a different language and using texts that pop out and are colorful to grab your attention. 

His campaign managed to reach different states and countries. In social media comments relating to him people would often comment, “That’s my mayor (I am from Texas),” or whichever state/city/country the commenter would be from if they are not from New York City. 

Many students, following the inauguration of Mamdani, have numerous different wants and necessities for Mamdani now that he has taken office as mayor. Some of these wants and necessities directly relate to Mamdani’s policies that he has been pushing about in his campaign such as rent, bus fares, security, and various other policies. 

Edison students voice their expectations for Mamdani

Even if students were not able to participate in this mayoral election, they were able to voice their hopes for the mayor’s campaign promises. A common concern that remains among New Yorkers is the cost of living in the city.

“I hope he sticks to his word and makes America a place where the people can truly afford to live instead of survive,” Leslie Ferrer, a junior said. “Many people struggle to make money, as they don’t get paid enough to afford the high costs of rent. When he hopefully makes America more affordable, there will be less stress for the people and that can prevent homelessness from further increasing.”

Other students directed their attention towards the need for inclusion and steps towards universal healthcare.

“I hope that he implements affordable Healthcare and helps trans, queer, poc or other minorities in New York to feel safe and have them protected. It’s important to me that we stay safe, especially during current president,” said Gianna Andrade, a junior.

“I hope he implements something he talked about during his campaign. About funding programs in NYC that fund housing and gender affirming healthcare to those in financial trouble,” said Jade Aguila, a senior. 

Mamdani promised to make New York City safe for all New Yorkers by creating the Department of Community Safety, a new civilian-led agency to address a variety of issues ranging from violence prevention to expanding community-based programs.

“I really hope Mayor Mamdani brings significant changes to our city and truly makes it a sanctuary for the diverse communities,”   said Mohamed Iqbal, a senior.

From Edison to Action: Why Alum Joined the Campaign

The Edison Light reached out to Thomas A. Edison alumni who helped with campaigning for Mamdani. Miles Vendor-Wilson graduated from Edison in 2025 and is currently majoring in geography at UMass Amherst.  In the past, Miles has campaigned with his parents for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders.

During the campaign of Mamdani, Miles attended a multitude of events that were dedicated to getting Mamdani elected. Miles has been consistently active in politics in his youth with knowing politicians and current events.

Many young voters had not heard about Mamdani before his mayoral campaign. However, it was different for Miles.

“I had known about him because he was an assembly member in just a couple of districts over. And I think my mom actually did a little bit of volunteering when he was running for assembly actually, too. But I wasn’t involved with that really. And when I really started hearing about his campaign for mayor was on social media through Instagram, video content, as well as just what people were talking about, among my friends and family and in the news,”  Vendor-Wilson said. 

Young people join campaigns to advocate for issues they care deeply about and push for change in areas that directly affect their lives.

“It was really just how much excitement there is behind the campaign,” said Miles Vendor-Wilson.  “I think the policy is really important. You know, the policies he’s pushing for are super important for making the city a better place and a more affordable place for all of the people who live here. And I think it’s something that we need to fight for because I think a lot of politicians don’t like the change that Zohran  is pushing for, and I think we need a lot of that change. So I really wanted to be able to help out attempting to get him elected and we did that successfully.”

Youth should be involved in politics to bring fresh perspectives, build essential life skills, as their participation shapes decisions on issues directly affecting their lives and future. Their engagement promotes generational dialogue, strengthens communities, and creates more inclusiveness in decision making. 

“I think youth being involved in politics is very important. And I think that Zohran did a really amazing job of bringing young people out to vote and to volunteer. The vast majority of the people volunteering for the campaign were certainly younger people, a lot of college students. Some high school students, myself included at the time and I think it’s important for young people to be involved because it’s politics, it affects us and you know, the Department of Education is run by the city. So it’s important that we have a mayor who isn’t going to cut funds for our education and who cares about the well-being of young people as well,” he says,  “I know Zohran has talked about the homelessness crisis among young people. So many students in the public education system in New York City are homeless and it has so many effects on their education. So, it’s important to have young people involved so that we can make our voices heard and make sure that we have politicians who serve us as well as older people and everyone else as well.”

Zohran Mamdani hopes to transform NYC by making it more affordable and equitable, focusing on policies that empower working New Yorkers.

“The main thing, of course, that has been the focus of his agenda from day one is making New York City more affordable. I think he did a really good job of, you know, listening to what voters’ needs were. One of the first viral reels that he put out was, you know, interviewing people on the streets of Hillside Avenue, Queens, and Fordham Road in the Bronx, and asking people, what you need in the city, and a lot of people said that affordability was a major issue, and he listens, and he incorporated that into being a central part of his campaign, and it worked. So I think I’m really excited to see a lot of that be implemented. I’m really excited to finally have Fast and Free buses. I think it’ll be great if we can have buses that are free so that people don’t have to get in line and tap every single time, can get on the back door as well as make buses faster,” Miles Vendor-Wilson says.

Miles also noted the issue with the high cost-of-living in New York currently impacting New Yorkers’ quality of life.

“I think that’s really important. And I know a lot of people, Edison and in other schools and parts of the city, are really impacted by that as well. I think also a lot of the parts about affordability in terms of groceries and rent are also really important. I know that freezing the rent is such an important thing for the rent stabilized attendants, because under the Eric Adams administration, I don’t know the exact statistics, he increased rents on those rent stabilized units by a lot over his term. I think it was like over 10%, like 12%, it got increased,” he continued “So I think it’s really important that we have a mayor who’s committed to making sure that we aren’t putting tenants in harm’s way and constantly raising prices on them when, as we see, it leads to people leaving the city, because they aren’t able to afford it. So I’m really excited to have a campaign that focuses on working people’s needs and isn’t bought out by billionaires. There were billionaires who were spending thousands of dollars on making sure that Zohran didn’t get elected. And through the power of the people volunteering, we were able to fight that and get him to win by a pretty big margin as well. So, I’m really excited to have someone who isn’t bought out by billionaires or corporations and cares about working class people.”

More Than Words – Big Moves

Twenty-two days into his term, Zohran Mamdani has already fulfilled promises, including childcare policy.

On January 22nd, 2025, he introduced a new Youth Clinics focusing on mental health and  providing health care for youth out of pediatric care. 

“If we want young New Yorkers to chase their dreams here, we have to make it clear that their struggles are not just their own,” said Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani.