The New York City mayoral election was held on November 4, 2025, with democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani being the elected mayor. This specific election, more than any other this season, drew massive amounts of media attention from not only NYC citizens, but US citizens across the country. The three candidates; Mamdani, Sliwa, and Cuomo were all so different from one another in their opinions and mannerisms, that the election’s debate stage became a source for entertainment for millions on platforms such as Instagram and X, as well as Saturday Night Live performing a skit of the debate.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of how this particular election was portrayed to young Americans through the media, The Ravine interviewed three current and former AP Government students from WKHS, Anthony Katsares, Jackson Deisler, and Nathan Corn on their experiences seeing the election unfold.
All three students stated that throughout the election process they saw “quite a few” posts on social media regarding the election and the candidates, with Jackson specifically stating that he had seen “multiple Instagram Reels of debate clips.”
When asked how the media portrayed the candidates to him, Anthony stated that “The left media portrayed Mamdani as a mayor to help the middle class but the right wing pointed out his lack of experience.” Similarly to Anthony, Nathan and Jackson both made remarks regarding the heavy focus that the media had on Mamdani in particular, with Nathan stating that “the media mostly focused on the different policy approach of Mamdani and how he contrasted with other candidates on lots of issues.”
As for whether or not these students are still receiving social media content regarding New York City, the opinions were mixed. Jackson stated that he “continues to still see instagram posts about Zohran and most of them are trying to expose or push false narratives about him as the new mayor.” He also added that he followed the candidates more closely on social media than perhaps some of his peers so that may have an effect on what he is being shown on these platforms. Both Anthony and Nathan, however, stated that the content they were receiving about NYC had nearly completely stopped for them on all platforms once the mayoral race had ended.
This election was the perfect example of how candidates will get the votes of young Americans. So many “clippable” moments stemmed from this election from all three candidates, causing each of them to resonate more with young voters who would see these clips on social media. While these clips may be entertaining, it is incredibly important to do legitimate research before deciding a vote in any election in order to be sure that you are making an informed decision, regardless of what is being said on Instagram or X.
