Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk recently warned that we could see “Mamdani-ism” spread across the country if the GOP doesn’t fix the homeownership problem and improve the cost of living. Translation: Zohran Mamdani’s potential win in the New York City mayoral race this year could drive the Democratic Party to embrace a socialist agenda, which might appeal to Gen Z if owning a home remains a pipe dream and paychecks barely cover the essentials. Kirk believes that the majority of young voters the Republicans gained during the 2024 election would then flock to the left to nab handouts. But are today’s young Americans so disaffected that they would buy into a collective creed and give the left a chance to centralize the economy nationwide?
Mamdani’s Appeal to Gen Z – Policy or Pessimism?
Mamdani is a self-described Democratic Socialist who many expect will be New York City’s next mayor, stirring controversy nationwide because he ran on a far-left platform that included rent freezes, city-owned grocery stores, free buses, and no-cost childcare. He may have won by pushing these ideas, but perhaps they weren’t the primary reason so many New Yorkers voted for him.
Mamdani did something the majority of elected Democrats seem to ignore nowadays: He tapped into the issues Americans are most concerned about and spoke directly to them. His methods might’ve been more central to his win than his message. That his proposed solutions to their problems were radical was probably less important to voters than the fact that he was speaking to them, addressing their needs and wants. Still, some believe Mamdani’s support was fueled by a sense of “pessimism, confusion, and vibes” among young people, explained The New York Post. “’They perpetually think things are awful,’ psychologist Jean Twenge told The Post. ‘It’s “Vote the bastards out,” no matter who is in office. Because [for Gen Z], things are always awful, even if they’re not.’”
If that’s the case, maintaining the youth vote in 2026 and 2028 might be difficult for the GOP, regardless of its successes. While voters aged 18 to 21 now favor Republican candidates by a margin of nearly 12 points, according to a recent Yale Youth Poll, there is a split between young (18-24) and old (25-29) Gen Zers. Several polls since the 2024 election have spotted a wedge: A higher percentage of the younger group identifies with the GOP, holds conservative views, and has more favorable views of Republicans in Congress, too. But it does appear the older half’s perception of congressional GOPers has become increasingly more positive. Also, the under-24 group tends to have more Republican-coded opinions on various policies and perceives Trump more favorably than the older cohort.
This means more kids are leaning right as they age, which could benefit Republicans for a decade or longer – if Kirk’s warning doesn’t come true. But if everything is always “awful” to Gen Z, maybe it won’t matter how successful the GOP is when 2028 rolls around. Still, would young adults really prefer more Mamdani-like candidates pushing a socialist agenda?
Democracy vs Socialism
Believe it or not, “62 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 say they hold a ‘favorable view’ of socialism, and 34 percent say the same of communism,” according to a recent survey by the Cato Institute and YouGov. Of course, it’s unlikely the pollsters asked, “Are you in favor of a political theory that was the foundation for communism, which is responsible for tens of millions of deaths?” In fact, the poll did not define socialism, so there’s no way to know if the 2,000 participants understand its history and components. Even self-declared socialists often seem to disagree on what the term means. Some want central planning and heavy regulation; others favor a welfare state and wealth redistribution. The only thing most of them can agree on is that they hate capitalism.
Mamdani, though, is a “Democratic” socialist, and that extra word could make some think it’s a nicer version of socialism, one that can coincide with freedom. “They do not realize that democratic socialism, the great utopia of the last few generations,” wrote economist F.A. Hayek in The Road to Serfdom (1944), “is not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something utterly different—the very destruction of freedom itself.”
The two are seemingly incapable of coexisting. “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality,” said philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville in 1848. “But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.”
After Mamdani’s primary win, it is realistic to think more socialist candidates will emerge to attract those who are unfamiliar with socialism’s real effects and the damage it has caused. “If millions of young Americans don’t know the basic facts about ideas that enslaved nearly half the world and helped launch World War II,” explained the Cato Institute, “how can they make sound decisions about policies — or whom to vote for?” Today might be a good time to start educating young minds on this.
The Democratic Blues
For the Democrats to gain a higher percentage of the youth vote would likely require more than Trump failing to improve the cost of living. The party’s credibility has nosedived since the 2024 election, and it is floundering, with no direction, no clear leader, no message, and no unity. Voters perceive the party as “out of touch,” “woke,” and “weak,” according to a poll by Unite the Country, a Democratic Super PAC. An AP-NORC poll recently revealed only 35% of Democrats are “optimistic about the party’s future,” a number that was nearly 60% a year ago. Meanwhile, its approval ratings teeter around 35% as the party continues to lose Hispanic men, white men, and working-class voters.
Despite 2028 being a few years away, it seems improbable that a slew of Republican-leaning Gen Zers will hop the fence if the cost of living doesn’t decrease and homes remain out of reach. A bigger threat to the GOP losing Gen Zers might be their pessimism and low trust in public institutions and the government, which could drive them out of the political realm entirely.
