In the days after Zohran Mamdani snatched away the Democratic NYC primary from former mayor Andrew Cuomo, a recurring analysis line made headlines.
"How Zohran Mamdani used social media to build a movement," read the Washington Post.
"How Zohran Mamdani used social media to beat Cuomo," the NBC chimed in.
At 34, Mr Mamdani is, in many ways, New York's first millennial candidate.
He met his wife, artist Rama Duwaji, on Hinge. He courted voters on podcasts and TikTok. He even had a short-lived past as rapper Mr Cardamom.
But in a city of more than 8 million, Mr Mamdani could never rely on social media alone.
From virtual unknown to key Andrew Cuomo challenger, here's how Mr Mamdani's rise to power has harnessed the Zeitgeist — and a legion of "Zohranastrians".
Simple policies and savvy social media
Analysts are not wrong to say the self-labelled socialist has run an envy-worthy social media campaign.
Months before June's primary vote, Mr Mamdani was plunging into the ice-cold waters of Coney Island, or live-streaming with Twitch personality Hasan Piker.
He wooed NY micro-influencers and appeared at sold-out nightclub fundraisers hosted by popular leftist podcasters.
Each day it seemed as if he was reaching out to a new niche of online New Yorkers.
But what didn't change was his core message.
Among his most popular election promises were measures aimed at improving daily life in the Big Apple — including rent freezes, fare-free buses and city-owned grocery stores.
While they've been criticised by Mr Cuomo in his comeback announcement as "slick slogans" with "no real solutions", their simplicity may be intentional.
Bruce Wolpe, a Senior Fellow at the United States Studies Centre, says a combination of charisma and directness may explain Mr Mamdani's rising star.
"By just projecting a very simple message with a very winning popular personality, he could generate enthusiasm," Mr Wolpe said.
"He brought out new voters that had not really participated in New York City politics for a long long time."
[graph 1]The Ugandan-born politician confirmed as much in a pre-primary interview with Politico.
"Your policies should not require translation," he said.
"They should speak directly to a person’s life, and I think the medium through which you convey that message should also speak to that same directness."
Mr Mamdani's campaign manager Elle Bisgaard-Church acknowledged the campaign was succeeding where others hadn't.
"As establishment Democrats fail to meaningfully connect with voters through non-traditional media, we've broken through to them — and it's driving our fundraising and field efforts," she wrote in a March state of the race memo reported by Politico.
Mr Wolpe likens Mr Mamdani's appeal to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who once was dubbed "the brightest political star born fully of the social media age".
For "alienated and dispossessed" voters Mr Mamdani also provided an alternative to the mainstream political system — an "evolutionary" shift in US elections best exemplified by Donald Trump's rise.
"A lot of people who feel alienated by politics see a hero in (Mr Mamdani), just as they saw a hero in AOC and so that means they come out," Mr Wolpe adds.
"Cuomo approached it as an entitlement and that doesn't work anymore."
Affordability as a 'North Star'
What might be more surprisingly is that Mr Mamdani could redirect online interest into action.
His campaign said it had mobilised around 50,000 unpaid volunteers who passed out information in seven languages.
They estimated more than 1.5 million doors were knocked during primaries.
Similarly, polling booths saw early voters nearly double from 2021.
And according to the Board of Elections, young voters between the ages of 25 and 34 made up the largest share of that turnout.
[Morningside vote] Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something, an organisation dedicated to getting young people into politics, was not completely surprised.
She said, following Mr Mamdani's primary win, her group had seen its biggest surge in interest since inception.
"[It's] the fact that his policies so clearly spoke to the issues that young people are experiencing," she said, singling out cost-of-living as key pressure for young New Yorkers.
One in four New Yorkers live in poverty, nearly double the national poverty rate, according to research from earlier this year.
It seemed something Mr Mamdani was acutely aware of — likening affordability to his "North Star".
"It’s that North Star that will help us break beyond the typical constituencies," he told Politico.
Mr Wolpe says, regardless of income, cost-of-living had the ability to impact the vote in NYC.
"They feel that things are not right," he said.
"The healthcare system isn't right. That people can't afford a house or an apartment in New York is not right.
"Even wealthy people can come down on the liberal side of economic issues and say 'he's got some hope for my kids.'"
'I felt seen': Speaking to multicultural NYC
In videos, Mr Mamdani speaks in Spanish or divvies Chom Chom (a Bengali sweet made by curdling milk).
He enlists the help of council member Chi Ossé and Senator John Liu who walk through the Chinese-populated streets of Flushing, endorsing Mr Mamdani in mandarin.
Part of his success too has been his willingness to speak to New York's multicultural epicentre.
[Graphic map 1][graphic map 2] Analysis of the primary shows voters resoundingly turned out for Mr Mamdani in the largely Asian-Indian neighbourhood of South Ozone Park and the Asian neighbourhoods of East Flushing and Sunset Park.
The Latinx region of Washington Heights similarly saw a competitive voter turnout for Mr Mamdani.
"These groups are emerging and participating fully in in the political process," Mr Wolpe said when asked about the turnout.
"This is democracy at work."
Tanzeela Rahman, a daughter of Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, said she grew up "very low income" in New York.
"I felt seen by him in a way politicians have not seen me ever," the 29-year-old financial systems analyst told AP.
"I think very few people in government understand … how hard it is to survive in New York City."
New York is home to around 750,000 Muslims and 455 000 South-East Asians, like Mr Mamdani.
Democratic strategist Amit Singh Bagga says affordability was not only the right message to send but that Mr Mamdani effectively harnessed identity politics to say it.
"These are sort of iconic cultural devices that really do establish a connection between peoples real lived experiences every single day," he told Spectrum News NY1, pointing to an example of Mr Mamdani using mango lassi to explain ranked choice voting.
In the last week of the primaries alone, Mr Mamdani reportedly visited 135 mosques.
The visits stood in direct opposition to Mr Cuomo who critics said had never made a public visit to a mosque during his 10-plus years as governor.
In later debates, Cuomo was still unable to name a mosque he visited as governor.
Bilquees Akhtar, who is Muslim, told the New York Times, she had initially supported Mr Cuomo but became a fan of Mr Mamdani's after a relentless TikTok campaign by children.
Charmed by his "friendly" nature, she also found herself swayed by a candidate that resembled her own experience.
"All of Cuomo’s ads tried to make Mamdani look like a terrorist," she told the publication.
"But he’s a New Yorker like me."
Two key opponents stand in his way
As Mr Mamdani's success grew, one prominent New Yorker took no time to make his distaste known.
"A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally," President Trump said in July, amid Mr Mamdani's growing profile.
"We’re going to look at everything."
When asked about Mr Mamdani's pledge to stop ICE arrests in New York, Mr Trump replied, "Well then we’ll have to arrest him."
In a way, it surmises the racist attacks Mr Mamdani — a naturalised US citizen — has faced ever since he announced his run.
In June, Mr Mamdani accused a donor organisation supporting Mr Cuomo of artificially lengthening and darkening his beard — in a move he deemed " blatant Islamophobia".
He also faces criticism from conservatives and Jewish groups alike for his vocal pro-Palestinian stance — even while scoring the endorsement of some progressive Jewish groups and saying he "celebrates and cherishes" Jewish New Yorkers.
But no-one is quite as vocal as Mr Trump.
"Trump would want to obliterate this guy," Mr Wolpe said, who has written two books about the president.
"If he is elected mayor, he's going to have to deal with Trump.
"Trump has businesses in New York. He has an apartment in New York. Trump considers New York part of him.
"With Mamdani as mayor, that's not going be a friendly relationship.
"If Trump feels that he can say things about Mamdani that'll hurt his chances he'll do it."
Patrick Gaspard, an Obama administration official who has been quietly advising Mr Mamdani said there was no if about it.
"As soon as Zohran puts his hand on the Quran and is sworn in as the first Muslim mayor of New York, Donald Trump will start firing away," he told the New Yorker.
Mr Mamdani will also face a fierce showdown with some of New York's wealthiest.
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman has already said Mr Mamdani's leadership would make NYC "dangerous and economically unviable" while grocery chain CEO John Catsimatidis has threatened to move his brand if Mr Mamdani is elected.
Despite this, the politician has firmly reiterated he does not believe "we should have billionaires".
He has also accused other candidates of being both in their pockets and Mr Trump's.
"This should be a race about addressing the questions of who will make this city affordable ... not an audition for the best jester for Donald Trump and his billionaire supporters," he said in August.
It will be up to voters to determine if he is indeed right.
"I mean is he just a shooting star or is he really a force of nature?" Mr Wolpe asks.
"We'll see."
