Is Zohran Mamdani the Key to Democrats Winning Back Young Men?

Newsweek

3 days ago

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As Democrats struggle with dwindling support among young male voters, some party strategists are pinning their hopes on a rising star: New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
A July poll of 1,453 New York City residents, conducted by Zenith Research and Public Progress Solutions, found Mamdani leading his opponents by double digits in the crowded five-way mayoral race. He commands over 50 percent of the vote—even outpacing well-known figures like former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and sitting current Mayor Eric Adams. Mamdani also enjoys the backing of 85 percent of young men, a level far above any other candidate.
This enthusiasm sharply contrasts with national trends, where young men have increasingly leaned Republican. In the 2024 presidential race, President Donald Trump made notable gains with men age 18 to 44, winning 53 percent—up from 45 percent in 2020, when former President Joe Biden carried the demographic with 52 percent. Young men of color, especially Latino and Black males age 18 to 29, swung toward Trump, driving Republican advances.
The challenge for Democrats is underscored by polling data. An April NBC News Stay Tuned poll found only 30 percent of Gen Z men identify as Democrats, compared with 52 percent of Gen Z women—a 22-point gender gap.
As Democrats struggle with dwindling support among young male voters, some party strategists are pinning their hopes on rising star Zohran Mamdani.
As Democrats struggle with dwindling support among young male voters, some party strategists are pinning their hopes on rising star Zohran Mamdani.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty
Economic Pressures and Affordability Fuel Young Male Discontent
Focus groups led by centrist pro-Democratic organizations Third Way and HIT Strategies found that men aged 18 to 29 in swing states feel abandoned by Democrats, saying the party has left them with "resentment and hopelessness" about their economic prospects.
"The young men in our focus groups have been feeling an economic burden that has not been meaningfully addressed—affording everyday life, getting a good-paying job to provide for their family, and being able to do better than their parents. They feel economic expectations are stacked against them as young men, especially as fewer men enroll in college compared with women—something they attribute to a lack of support from their families and communities, which often pushes them into blue collar work," the report stated.
According to the American Institute for Boys and Men, in 2022, 57 percent of male high school graduates enrolled in college immediately, compared to 66 percent of female graduates. Even among those who do attend college, men are more likely than women to end up in blue collar professions—46 percent of college-educated men were working in or pursuing trades in 2025, compared with just 27 percent of women with degrees, a Resume Builder survey found.
"A lot more women are going to college rather than men like me. Maybe I dropped out, and we're just forced to kinda, like, go into blue collar work, which isn't bad or anything, but I just feel like women probably have more opportunities to get into certain things," one focus group participant said.
Many also felt dismissed by the left, accusing it of overlooking their economic struggles and denouncing the term "male privilege."
Former President Barack Obama recently addressed this sense of neglect on Michelle Obama's podcast, reflecting, "We don't think about boys and just assume they're going to be okay because they've been running the world and they've got all the advantages relative to the girls. We've made that mistake sometimes in terms of our rhetoric. Where it's like we're constantly talking about what's wrong with the boys, instead of what's right with them."
Obama was the only Democratic figure focus group participants could name as a masculine role model within the party.
New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani leaves a news conference outside the Jacob K. Javits federal building on August 7 in Manhattan.
New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani leaves a news conference outside the Jacob K. Javits federal building on August 7 in Manhattan.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
Young Men Offer Chance For Democrats
Many young men remain politically up for grabs. Pew Research Center data shows just 34 percent of men aged 18 to 29 support Democrats—the lowest of any age and gender group—while 13 percent remain undecided, the highest share of uncommitted voters among all demographics.
This ambivalence reflects a complex attitude toward both parties. The focus group results showed that while many young men are drawn to Trump's economic messaging, they recoil at policies they see as unjust or overly punitive, such as deportations without due process and tariffs that harm foreign workers.
"If you allow people to be deported without, like, checking them for their nationality or whatever they did or, you know, if they have their paper, then they'll deport people who have a nationality or people who belong here, and that wouldn't be fair," one participant said.
Joshua Doss, senior research manager at HIT Strategies, and Lucas Holtz, political analyst at Third Way, argue this offers Democrats a clear opportunity to reconnect with young men on economic and ethical grounds—a strategy that could boost candidates like Mamdani.
Joan Williams, professor at UC Law San Francisco, told Newsweek Mamdani's campaign "sends an important message for Democrats" at a time when young voters are drifting away. Mamdani has shown that Democrats can engage young men without resorting to Trump-style posturing by addressing men's "felt need to provide."
"Mamdani put economic issues at the center. 'Hard work should yield a stable life,'" Williams said, quoting Mamdani's acceptance speech.
She highlighted the economic pressures facing young men: "Young people often can only get gig work in their 20s, and can't afford houses or child care in their thirties. Men remain under hydraulic pressure to be 'successful men'—note that means economically successful—in an economy that makes that extraordinarily difficult not only for men who don't have college degrees, but increasingly for men who do."
A 2024 Federal Reserve report showed 26 percent of Americans aged 18–29 engaged in gig work over the past year—more than double the 12 percent rate among those aged 60 and over. An analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that in 1975, nearly 50 percent of adults aged 25–34 had reached four key markers of adulthood—moving out, employment, marriage, and having children. By 2024, that figure fell below 25 percent, with rising living costs cited as a major barrier.
Additionally, last year, the average age of a first-time homebuyer was 38 years old, a record high, according to the NAR. In the 1980s, the average was in the late 20s.
Analysis from the Young Men Research Initiative (YMRI) points to Mamdani's agenda—which includes free buses, affordable housing, and public grocery stores—as directly addressing the issues young men prioritize, especially the rising cost of housing.
"It's difficult to protect and provide for your family... if you can never afford to buy a house," YMRI told Newsweek.
Alvin Tillery, founder of the Alliance for Black Equality, sees Mamdani's appeal as extending beyond policy: "He's an appealing figure to young men because of his exuberant, positive campaign style and the fact that he is talking about a top issue that has a disproportionately negative effect on young people: affordability."
Tillery added that a decisive victory over "establishment politicians and monied interests" this fall "could herald the reset that the Party desperately needs."
YMRI summed it up: "Young men want to be able to protect and provide for their family," and "home ownership remains a defining life goal." They concluded, "Mamdani is tapping into these aspirations, and it may just work out."