By Holly Carr, Staff Writer

The Democratic party in the U.S. is complex and often struggles from infighting, Republicans over the 2020s have gained the votes of working class people, but as Gen Z citizens get to voting age, Democrats are vying for these young votes. 

Representative James Talarico now leads Paxton 76 percent to 18 percent among likely voters under the age of 35, according to a survey released by a Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University. In the center’s late July poll, Talarico led that group 59 percent to 29 percent. In New York City, young voters ages 18-29, provided Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani overwhelming support toward his historic victory. According to exit polls, 75% of youth voted for Mamdani, and he won the three-way race with 50% of the overall vote, according to a TISCH College study.

 I believe Mamdani may be a reason we start to see a split from the impenetrable two-party system in the U.S. with his socialist ideals and policies being enacted.

Mamdani has utilized social media for his campaigns to reach a large Gen Z audience, using sites such as Tiktok and Instagram to share his beliefs and goals for NYC. 

Mamdani won the mayoral election in 2025, and following his win, he has continued to make videos informing New Yorker’s of what he is doing in office, which is keeping attention not just on his position of power, but how he’s utilizing it. His active participation in local communities being documented on social media leads people within, and outside of his community to see the benefits his Democratic and socialist policies bring. “I think the question that is now in front of us is where do we want to go and what do we want this party to be,” Mumdani said in an interview with the Rolling Stones.

Mamdani’s hands-on approach of participating in NYC issues is the backbone of his campaign, not just hearing about what he’s doing, but seeing Mamdani participating makes him feel like he is one of us, and is a part of the community he represents. “..I think one thing that we saw was candidates being able to really focus on tangible political platforms, tangible messages that were about what we were going to do for you,” Maya Handa, who oversaw Zohran Mamdani’s winning campaign said in an Dartmouth interview. 

In Texas, we are seeing a similar approach by James Talarico, a Democratic politician, who is running for U.S. Senate. TeamTalaricoHQ said in an X post, “You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you. Your boss cares about politics. Your landlord cares about politics. Your insurance company cares about politics. And until you care about politics, they’re gonna keep using the political system to screw you over.” 

Talarico rejects the traditional performative politics in favor of direct communication, which appeals to the younger person’s urge for authenticity over theatrics. He can be seen as a citizen first and politician second. Similar to Mamdani, he is participating in the communities he represents. If you take away the pageantry, who they are is more important. “I learned about him through his social media marketing. Talarico is a very personable guy, and is adamant about how he relates to all types of Texans,” Karsen Wallace, a senior Studio Art major said “Using his social media to reach out and inform potential voters is what is making him so influential. In addition, he focuses on what he will do for the people, not necessarily on using hate speech to bash his opponent. That type of maturity is appreciated in this day and age.”

Mamdani and Talarico are representing their city, state and themselves, and Gen Z is able to see that through in their online campaigns and on the ground action. Social media is a tool, but a call to action can only be believed if a politician is doing boots on the ground actions.