The idea highlights two separate political figures in recent news cycles:
Zohran Mamdani, who won the New York City mayoral election by employing a strategy focused on social media and the issue of affordability, and is for rights of Palestinians.
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, a Lithuanian politician whose future presidential aspirations are noted.
Both are stating that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Mamdani Rewrote the Script for How to Win
Zohran Mamdani was recently elected the 111th mayor of New York City, becoming the city's first Muslim and South Asian mayor and its youngest in over a century. His victory is seen as a new model for progressive Democrats nationwide.
Key aspects of his winning campaign included:
Deft use of social media: Mamdani's campaign used savvy social media videos, including a viral moment of him confronting a Trump-era border czar, to energize a large base of young and first-time voters.
Focus on affordability: His platform centered on populist, working-class issues such as freezing rent on stabilized apartments, making public buses free, and providing universal child care, which resonated deeply with New Yorkers grappling with the high cost of living.
Grassroots organizing: He leveraged a large, dedicated volunteer base, notably from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other community groups, to build an "unstoppable force" on the ground that traditional campaigns struggled to counter.
Defeating a dynasty: Mamdani secured an upset victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent and had the late endorsement of President Donald Trump, framing the race as a battle between working people and the wealthy elite.
Žemaitaitis – Future President of Lithuania?
Remigijus Žemaitaitis is a controversial Lithuanian politician and the founder of the populist "Dawn of Nemunas" party (Nemuno aušra).
Presidential aspirations: Žemaitaitis ran in the Lithuanian presidential election held in May 2024, where he finished in fourth place.
Political momentum: Despite his fourth-place finish, he successfully used the momentum from his presidential campaign to boost his new party's support in the subsequent October 2024 parliamentary elections, where it finished third, securing 20 seats.
Controversy and coalition: Žemaitaitis is known for his anti-establishment, conservative worldview and faced a Constitutional Court ruling that he had violated his parliamentary oath with antisemitic comments.
Despite pre-election promises not to, the center-left Social Democratic Party eventually formed a ruling coalition that included his party, though President Gitanas Nausėda insisted no members of Žemaitaitis's party, including its leader, could serve as ministers. This new coalition government was formed in November 2024.
How did Zohran Mamdani accomplish it?
“When Zohran Mamdani was three years into his term as a state legislator last summer, he approached his political allies with a plan to run for New York City mayor that even they doubted he could pull off.
Leaders of the Democratic Socialists of America were initially reluctant to take a chance on the young politician with a thin resume and little name recognition, and they worried a bad showing could get the organization written off as a fringe group.
"The risks were that there was a narrow path to victory and we could underperform," said Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the city's DSA. "It took probably a hundred conversations with leaders in the organization to move the institution and for all of us to take this big risk together with him."
Mamdani's victory in the mayoral race in the U.S.'s largest city is the result of an improbable series of events, including a three-way general election that split centrist voters between his opponents, a lackluster field of contenders, a wounded incumbent mayor and shifting sentiment on Israel. It is also thanks to his abilities as a campaigner, including his dexterous use of social media to reach younger voters.
The 34-year-old Mamdani -- who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an independent candidate, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the general election on Tuesday -- comes to the role largely untested and faces steep challenges in governing.
Members of the city's Jewish community are deeply skeptical of his views on Israel and concerned he won't aggressively tackle antisemitism. The city's business community, which gave tens of millions of dollars in support of his opponents, continues to view many of his signature policies warily.
The son of an academic and film director, Mamdani spent the decade or so before winning his first election as an aspiring rapper, foreclosure-prevention counselor and music supervisor on one of his mother's films.
He first took office in 2021, as part of a slate of Democratic Socialists of America candidates who won seats in the state legislature. His mayoral opponents repeatedly attacked him for his youth and lack of experience. "You have never had a job. You've never accomplished anything," Cuomo, 67, who lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, said at a mayoral debate.
When he was still a novice Queens state assemblyman, Mamdani saw an opportunity. Eric Adams, a Democrat, was limping through the back end of his first term as mayor, as he and members of his administration faced corruption investigations and scandals.
Over the past decade, the DSA had successfully run candidates in local and state races, with its members acting as campaign managers, finding canvassers and developing social media strategy.
The organization gained steam after Bernie Sanders's strong showing in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary and scored a notable victory when it backed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a then-political newcomer, in her 2018 congressional win in Queens. Mamdani believed it was time for the group to seek political power at a citywide level, Gordillo said.
Mamdani launched his campaign in October 2024. "Life in this city doesn't need to be this hard," he said in a video kicking off his run. He highlighted the bribery indictment against Adams, and a series of progressive proposals to freeze rents on a swath of the city's apartments and make buses and child care free.
While early polls suggested public safety was the top issue on voters' minds, "Zohran was determined that affordability was actually the biggest growing concern based on his encounters with average folks across communities," said Patrick Gaspard, a top aide to former President Barack Obama and unpaid adviser to Mamdani.
Mamdani met with significant early opposition from the city's business elite, fearful of a socialist running the financial capital of the world. Business executives poured tens of millions of dollars into pro-Cuomo super political-action committees ahead of the June 24 primary.
The super PACs funded ads that attacked Mamdani as anti-Israel and highlighted his past comments calling for the defunding of the New York Police Department.
Mamdani ultimately beat Cuomo by 12 points in a primary election with the highest turnout for a citywide election in a decade. Voters ages 18 to 29 had the biggest turnout of any age group.
Mamdani also capitalized on shifting sentiment against Israel two years into the war in Gaza. He has vocally supported Palestinian rights and accused Israel of committing genocide. His stances on the issue excited young voters and didn't torpedo his run in a city with the largest Jewish population in the U.S.” [1]
1. U.S. News: Mamdani Rewrote Script for How to Win --- Deft use of social media and focus on affordability in NYC paved path to victory. Fanelli, James. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 06 Nov 2025: A7.
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