Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, arrives for a news conference at Astoria Park during the New York City mayoral Democratic primary in the Queens borough of New York City on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. She was 29 years old when she took office in 2019, 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 SAY
Known 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 2024 presidential election, 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 election. 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."
Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, during an election night event in New York early on Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hogg recently left the Democratic National Committee (DNC) after stirring up tension over his $20 million plan to primary older incumbent Democrats he said 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, carefully articulated the changing landscape and demographic of New York City, Mamdani also met "outer borough voters," including older and immigrant New Yorkers, online.
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani takes the stage at his primary election party. Many wealthy New Yorkers have backed his candidacy. ((AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
"One week ago today, we shocked the establishment and redrew the political map of New York City with a campaign relentlessly focused on the needs of working people," Mamdani said in a social media video, speaking directly to his followers and supporters alike.
In the video, Mamdani explained how he won back voters "many had written off," including Trump voters and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams voters. Mamdani said he built a "coalition" campaign by speaking voters' languages, or at least trying to, to reflect the "mosaic" of New York City.
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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 victory, and ranked-choice voting did just that.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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