Gen Z focus group shows excitement about Mamdani, lack of trust in establishment
A focus group of young New York City residents conducted during the early voting period in a hotly contested mayoral race found that Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani's message of affordability resonated with participants concerned about the cost of living in America's largest city.
Researchers from the Harvard Institute of Politics asked the group aged 22 to 29 about the biggest stressors in their lives and their preferences in this year's mayoral race in order to better understand the political attitudes of New York City's young voters.
The study comes as the role of the youth vote in this year's election for mayor has loomed large, with Mamdani in particular receiving praise for his social media strategy that allowed him to tap into the Gen Z vote in the Democratic primary. It could also point to how Gen Z voters might behave in the 2026 midterm elections, as Republicans across the country seek to maintain their control of the Senate and their razor-thin majority in the House.
Participants in the group hailed from The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, and spanned education levels and careers. Those excited about Mamdani crossed the political spectrum, including two participants who had voted for President Donald Trump in last year's presidential election.
One of those participants was Matthew A., a 27-year-old Republican from Texas who now lives in Manhattan. Focus group participants were identified only by their first name and last initial.
"I'm enthusiastic. I think he has great plans," Matthew said.
<h2>"Seems like another Bernie"</h2>
He drew comparisons between Trump and Mamdani, saying that with both "there's no flip-flopping."
"The Bernie-Trump pipeline is very real," added Thomas L., a 25-year-old Republican who also voted for Trump and lives in Queens, referring to the group of independent Sen. Bernie Sanders supporters who were attracted to Trump's populist message after Sanders dropped out of the Democratic primary back in 2016. "[Mamdani] seems like another Bernie, and I want that.”
Across the board, participants cited a lack of affordability as one of the greatest stressors on young people living in New York City and are hopeful that Mamdani's agenda might make living in the city that they love a little easier.
"I think my life could really improve if he wins," said Elyssa F., a 22-year-old Democrat who lives in Queens.
Other participants appreciated Mamdani's anti-establishment positioning and his stance on Israel.
"In the Democratic primary debate, where every candidate was asked, ‘What would be the first country you go and visit,' Mamdani was the only person that didn't say Israel," said Patrick G., a 29-year-old independent who lives in Brooklyn. "It just made me feel like, wow, everybody truly is sold out."
"There's a reason all the billionaires are funding Cuomo… because Mamdani speaks for the people and the establishment speaks for the corporations," Patrick added.
"It's honestly upsetting and shameful," said Liana S. -- a 23-year-old Democrat who lives in Manhattan -- of Democrats who haven't fallen in line to back Mamdani. "A lot of Democrats are like 'Vote blue no matter who -- except for Zohran.'"
After Mamdani won the Democratic primary in June, New York party leaders in Congress were not so quick to endorse him.
It wasn’t until just last week that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents a district in Brooklyn and part of Queens, endorsed Mamdani after a long debate over whether he would weigh in. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a lifelong resident of Brooklyn, still has yet to endorse in the race, even though early voting has already begun.
Almost 300,000 New Yorkers have already voted as the fourth day of early voting comes to a close -- as opposed to the 55,000 New Yorkers who had voted this same time in 2021 -- pointing to an exceptional level of energy this election has generated.
"Ideally, it would be a framework, particularly for the Democratic Party, to realize, ‘Oh, we can actually promote a vision, instead of just our whole platform being Trump sucks,’" Patrick said. "It's an actual vision to improve people's lives, hyper-focused on affordability.”
<h2>Disillusionment with the political establishment</h2>
Disillusionment with the current political establishment seemed to drive some participants to support Mamdani, with one calling former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who is running for mayor as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary — an "establishment plant."
"If [Mamdani] does win, that's just going to show other Democrats that are more leaning towards the establishment that it is possible. And at the end of the day, we do have a say in the vote, and we're not just going to vote for the establishment Democrats," Liana added.
Mamdani, who turned 34 this month, would be the youngest mayor of New York City in over a century -- a fact that some participants feel helps him better understand the challenges young people living in New York City face.
"I think [Mamdani]'s a better choice than people that are over 50 years old, 60 years old, where the last time they had to look for a job was when they were looking at a newspaper, circling ads," Matthew said.
To these focus group participants, a Mamdani represents hope.
"It's hope that the people's will still exists, and that the concerted effort against Mamdani has gone to every single length it could and every single sort of thread they could pull -- they went straight to the post-9/11 Islamophobia, " Thomas said. "I never thought that Democrats would go that far, but it seems that they would."
Cuomo and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently faced backlash for comments against Mamdani that could be perceived as anti-Muslim, including an instance in which Cuomo laughed with a radio host who said that Mamdani would cheer if there was another 9/11. Adams brought up "Islamic extremists" in his endorsement of Cuomo.
<h2>"We're ready for change"</h2>
"We just want to see someone new, someone fresh, so we get encouraged to do something different and actually bring a change in the community," said Bennur C., a 29-year-old Democrat who lives in Brooklyn.
"We're ready for change," Matthew said. "We don't need the same as always. We want better."
And while the participants are supporting Mamdani because they believe his policies would make their lives easier, the historic nature of his candidacy is not lost on them.
"New York City was the center of Islamophobia after 9/11, and New York City is about to elect their first Muslim mayor. And that's badass," Patrick said.
