Forgot Your Password?

New to The Nation? Subscribe

Print subscriber? Activate your online access

.nation-small__b{fill:#fff;}

The Students Betting on a New Democratic Party

Gen Z is playing an instrumental role in propelling Mamdani, his slate of candidates, and his progressive vision to office.

A “Dream Team” shirt featuring images of Democratic House candidate for New York Darializa Avila Chevalier, former New York City comptroller and Democratic House candidate for New York Brad Lander, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and New York State Representative and US House candidate Claire Valdez, outside a polling location at PS 84 during the primary election in New York City on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.

On weekends, the graffitied auto garage-turned-nightclub Silo is packed with boozed-up Brooklynites intent on dancing the night away. But on the Monday before the Democratic congressional primaries, the crowd packed inside the converted hangar was more focused on a slate of progressive candidates winning some tight races.

Awash in neon light, candidates Brad Lander and Claire Valdez each took the stage, urging attendees to tell their communities to vote the next day.

“We have one more day, 6 am to 9 pm; at 9:01, it is too late,” Valdez said. “Until then, we are going to knock on every single door again.”

Hours earlier, Matthew Smith, a student from Fordham University, bounded up the steps to knock on another Upper West Side brownstone in the rain.

“We gotta win this. We gotta power through,” he said.

When the woman inside answered, she politely refuted his spiel. Smith smiled, thanking her, and turned to go back down the steps. When asked if he still gets nervous talking to people about candidates, he admitted, “Yes, every time.”

Smith is one of several students who canvassed for the slate of Democratic socialists who ran for Democratic nominations in congressional districts across New York City. That day, he was canvassing for Darializa Avila Chevalier, who prevailed over incumbent Adriano Espaillat for a seat representing NY-13. The win was shared across the slate of candidates endorsed by Zohran Mamdani, which saw victories for Claire Valdez in NY-7 and Brad Lander in NY-10. For many students who were involved in organizing for Mamdani’s slate, the win signifies the manifestation of their vision for the Democratic Party.

YDSA national co-chair Sara Almosawi, a student at Cornell University who worked on Valdez and Avila Chevalier’s campaigns, joined the organization after graduating from high school. “I felt deeply moved by both of the Bernie Sanders campaigns, and when the DNC forced Bernie to drop out in 2020, I wanted an alternative. I wanted to build something that really represented the politics of working-class people like myself,” said Almosawi.

Several students found their entry into the political left with Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral election in New York City. “I first volunteered for him because I saw that he represented a campaign, a vision, that resonated with me, which is a working-class-focused vision,” said Fuhad Khan, a City College student working as a field lead for Valdez. Sitting in a corner booth at the dingy Rocka Rolla bar in Williamsburg, Khan’s bright-blue-and-orange Zohran shirt made him hard to miss.

Khan would go on to join the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), where he became further involved in leftist politics. While Khan “naturally supported any DSA........

© The Nation