Copyright Newsweek
Americans are taking to social media to share the common reason why they are not voting for Zohran Mamdani—and it’s not what you would expect. Many New Yorkers are heading to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots and decide who will be the next mayor of America’s largest city. The race has been heating up between Democratic nominee Mamdani who is the favorite to win; former state Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent; and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. All polls have Mamdani as the outright leader, but many Americans are joining a social-media trend to share the reason why they aren’t voting for him, although it is not a result of political ideals, but rather, geographical. View on Threads Taking to Threads, user Emma Borda @itsemmaborda wrote: "I live in Pennsylvania and therefore I must face the misfortune of being unable to do my civic duty and elect the person best fit for the job." Borda, 27, a social media manager, told Newsweek that, if she resided in New York, she would be Mamdani's "target audience." "What Mamdani is doing on socials doesn’t work just because he’s young—it works because he’s attuned to how young people are consuming media, and that requires a deep understanding of pop culture, memes, and even something as small as a visual hook. He and his team have mastered the art of modern connection," Borda said. Although she may not be a New Yorker, Borda said she feels this election is hugely important nonetheless. Whoever wins the race will shape the future, and, for her, Mamdani "gives us hope." Likewise, user @cbells202 added: "As a current New Yorker, I too will not be voting for Mamdani. That is because I live in Westchester County and cannot vote in the NYC mayoral election." Similarly, user @petecrump_ wrote: "I am NOT voting for Zohran Mamdani in this year’s election. Here’s why." However, when internet users opened the Threads post, the first and only reason was that he simply lives in North Carolina and isn’t eligible. View on Threads As the trend went viral, more and more social media users shared their similar reasons for not casting their votes. View on Threads Another Threads user, @robertartangell added his thoughts: "I live in California and have for 12 years. In my life, I have been registered to vote in Massachusetts, Ohio, and California, but never New York." Who Is Zohran Mamdani? Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and moved to New York City at the age of 7. He and his wife, Rama Duwaji, 27, met on the dating app Hinge. Mamdani became a U.S. citizen in 2018, and has previously served as a housing counselor in Queens. He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, representing the 36th district in Queens. If elected, he would be New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor. Why It Matters? Rarely does a mayoral election generate national attention like this one has. The question of whether she would vote for Mamdani was even put to Hillary Clinton on the Unholy podcast. Her simple answer was that she is "not involved in it" and doesn’t vote in New York. Mamdani has transcended politics by flooding TikTok with his campaign videos that speak directly to younger voters, posting a video entirely in Urdu, another in Spanish, and even making appearances in nightclubs urging people to vote. What Do Polls Say About the Election Result? A Fox News poll of 1,107 registered voters in New York City conducted by Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research between October 24 to October 28 found that 47 percent of voters support Mamdani, while 31 percent support Cuomo and 15 percent support Sliwa. A Marist poll found that Mamdani led Cuomo 48 percent to 32 percent among 1.134 likely voters in New York City. Sliwa had 16 percent support. When Does Voting End? Polls opened at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, November 4 and close at 9 p.m. Early voting began in October and closed on Sunday.
