Following a Democratic sweep of major city and state elections on Tuesday — including New York state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race — many Northwestern students responded with enthusiasm about the direction of the party.
As the first major elections held since President Donald Trump began his second term, many said the results reflected a response to his presidency.
From attention-grabbing mayoral and gubernatorial elections to smaller district-wide races, the results produced many “firsts” — most notably, Mamdani’s win as New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s election as Virginia’s first female governor.
Some students said they believe Mamdani’s appeal to young voters on issues like affordability — and his status as a political outsider — represented a welcome shift in Democratic campaigning.
McCormick junior Toby Zheng said he liked Mamdani because of his grassroots campaign and attention to quality-of-life issues. Zheng, who described himself as a moderate on the left, said he wanted Mamdani, a democratic socialist, to win.
“It’s nice to see a minority candidate win such a major election, and the fact that his policies lean so far left should be a wake-up call to the rest of the U.S. in terms of where we should be voting,” Zheng said.
Mamdani’s campaign promises consisted of free child care, free buses, city-owned grocery stores and a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments.
Weinberg junior Salma Hoxha, who is from New York City, said she believes Mamdani’s success came from young voters’ high turnout. According to ABC News exit polls, 78% of voters under 30 chose Mamdani, who is 34.
Specifically, Hoxha said Mamdani’s focus on affordability appealed to her and her friends.
“It’s always been an expensive city, but it’s just skyrocketed so much with increases in rent,” Hoxha said. “He’s advocating for something that a lot of people not just want, but need, to raise their families.”
Weinberg freshman Orion Rea said he believes the results demonstrate how voters are looking for different solutions to economic hardships because “nothing is working.”
He said he believes Mamadani’s focus on affordability and overall progressivism led to his win, which he considers evidence of voters’ rejection of traditional Democratic thinking when presented with an unconventional option.
“Without a candidate like Mamdani, I think a candidate like Cuomo would have just easily won,” Rea said. “You have to have that energetic alternative or else it’s just going to be defaulting on unpopular candidates.”
Weinberg senior Adam Durr, co-president of NU College Democrats, said he believes the victories will encourage the left to break from their “politics as usual” approach and “try new things.”
“I have no optimism that it will be a wake-up call for Republicans, but I think it’s a good signal to some Democrats who have been discouraged that it’s time to get up off the mat,” Durr said.
Weinberg senior and NU College Republicans president Clark Hanlon, who said he did not support Mamdani’s platform, said he sees little correlation between the Trump administration’s policies and the results.
In particular, he said he believes Trump has been focused on foreign policy, and therefore, the results are not a referendum on his second term.
“It would really seem far-fetched to me that the significant foreign policy actions from a Republican president would cause people to vote for Democrats on domestic policy in their own cities or their own states,” Hanlon said.
However, other students believed national politics played a significant role in the results.
Durr said he believes the Democratic candidates won because they effectively communicated their plans to both counter the president and support Americans.
“All the candidates obviously presented a sharp contrast to Donald Trump, but, beyond that, presented an exciting vision for the future that people could rally behind,” Durr said.
Hanlon said he believes Mamdani’s emphasis on issues like affordability propelled his success. Hanlon said Republicans could take a lesson from Mamdani’s win on what issues to prioritize when campaigning.
Hoxha said she believes the results will give Democratic voters hope.
“It shows when people actually go to the polls, and when people advocate together, they can make change,” Hoxha said. “I feel like a lot of people were a little less hopeful after last year’s election, so I’m thinking this is going to give people more of a confidence boost and inspire them to keep going.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Rea. The Daily regrets the error.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— ‘Safety in numbers’: Liberal NU students discuss consensus politics, cordial disagreement
— Election results prompt mixed reactions among NU students
— College Democrats and NU Young America’s Foundation co-host open discussion on Oligarchy in America
