Zohran hosted the first ever candidate press conference exclusively for content creators
The event reached more than 77.3 million users across social platforms.
Yesterday, Zohran Mamdani hosted a press conference exclusively for content creators. In a packed room of over 70 influencers, he answered a barrage of questions on everything from universal childcare to his favorite Pink Pantheress song.
“It is with deep gratitude and awe that I look across this room and see so many young people that are engaged in our movement for a more affordable New York,” he told the group. “Young people who are not just engaged but are doing the critical work of reaching those who are not yet engaged… those who are disaffected… those who are too busy figuring out how to survive to engage in politics. I don’t take your support for granted. I don’t expect you to make fun videos with me — I want you to ask questions because you deserve answers. I want to talk directly about the issues you are facing.”
The event collectively reached more than 77.3 million users across social platforms, and generated over 31,000 views on the live stream. The majority of the creators in the room weren’t overtly political, they included educators, finance experts, podcasters, and comedy creators.
The press conference was organized by Creators for Zohran, a grassroots group of influencers who have come together to help get Mamdani over the finish line. Creators for Zohran is led by Aidan Kohn-Murphy, a creator and activist and founder of Gen Z for Change, and Alexis Williams, a content creator, engineer, and activist. Gen Z for Change began as “TikTok for Biden,” a coalition of hundreds of content creators who helped turn out the youth vote that put Biden in office in 2020.
But unlike in 2020, the vast majority of creators involved in the NYC mayoral race don’t need any coaxing on who to support. “Zohran has been exciting and engaging creators since the beginning of the year and is incredibly motivating figure,” said Kohn-Murphy. He noted that tons of content creators joined Zohran’s canvassing efforts and posted relentlessly about him throughout the primary. “He’s young charismatic, good at content and is willing and excited to collab with creators in a way that feels totally authentic,” Kohn-Murphy.
Most importantly, however, his policies resonate. Since Harris’ loss last fall, many establishment Democrats and critics have claimed that Mamdani’s success is wholly due to TikTok and Mamdani’s ability to generate slick videos for social media. “TikTok helped NYC elect a socialist,” Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the think tank The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, posted to X in June.
But Zohran didn’t win the primary because of TikTok videos or social media memes. He has continued to generate momentum because he is a widely charismatic and talented political leader who has a popular progressive platform and slate of policy proposals that resonate with hundreds of thousands of working class New Yorkers. His campaign is also the culmination of years of organizing efforts by the DSA, the Working Families Party, and other grassroots groups.
Still, online influence matters and Andrew Cuomo has desperately attempted to counter Mamdani’s success by courting MAGA influencers, some of whom don’t even live in New York City. He has also posted a slew of deeply racist AI-generated slop ads.
Even in the room of influencers, Mamdani stuck to his core issues: making NYC more affordable, making busses fast and free, freezing rent, easing the burden on working families, taxing the mega rich, and helping struggling New Yorkers. He also spoke about protecting and valuing young immigrants and combatting rampant Islamaphobia.
Cassie Wilson, the first influencer to make a video with Mamdani, wrote about her experience helping to boost the campaign online back in 2024, and how hard she and others have worked to get Mamdani to where he is today: “We kept canvassing, and canvassing, and canvassing. I made more videos about Zohran’s campaign, and others did too. We simply never shut up.”
NEW YORKERS: Election day is November 4th, but you can vote early through November 2! Register here to canvass for Zohran today.
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