The party’s outdated messaging strategies are alienating America’s largest voting bloc.
Zohran Mamdani’s stunning defeat of Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary should terrify every establishment Democrat in America. The election exposed how catastrophically out of touch the party has become with its own future.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Democrats are hemorrhaging young voters not because our values are wrong, but because we’re communicating like it’s still the Clinton era while trying to reach a generation that gets their news from TikTok.
The numbers are staggering and undeniable. Millennials and Gen Z now represent 72 million Americans—48% of the voting-eligible population. These aren’t future voters; they’re today’s decision-makers. Yet somehow, we continue treating them as an afterthought while wondering why our carefully focus-grouped messages fall flat.
Consider what young Americans actually face. Despite being the most educated generation in history, millennial men earn less than their fathers did at the same age. In Tucson, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,650. Rents increased by 6% year-over-year in October 2020, according to Real Estate Daily News. The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Tucson was $1,355 at that time.
We’re talking about software engineers and teachers who can’t afford to live near their friends, who ride a bus to get to work, and who put their dreams on hold just to make rent.
While Democratic campaigns emphasized speeches about “democracy” and “bipartisan cooperation,” Mamdani focused on topics such as rent freezes, free childcare, and city-owned grocery stores. He spoke directly to their economic pain with bold solutions that matched the scale of their problems.
But it wasn’t just what Mamdani said—it was how he said it. His campaign featured authentic social media content, including a viral video with influencer Emily Ratajkowski. His volunteers weren’t just knocking doors; they were creating shareable content that felt genuine rather than calculated. He filmed himself running into the icy waters of Coney Island in January, showcasing the kind of authentic engagement that resonates with a generation that can spot political theater from miles away.
Meanwhile, traditional Democratic campaigns rely on newspaper endorsements that young voters don’t read, television ads they actively avoid (61% of men in their twenties use ad blockers), and establishment credibility they don’t trust. We’re shouting into megaphones while our audience has moved to entirely different platforms.
This generation demands authenticity in everything. Sixty-three percent of millennials are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products, and 29% research companies’ environmental practices before making a purchase. They don’t just want politicians who talk about climate change—they want proof that our values aren’t just campaign slogans.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Young voters’ economic anxiety makes them susceptible to populist messaging that blames immigrants or minorities rather than corporate greed for their struggles. Every month we persist with ineffective communication strategies is another month we risk losing the most progressive generation in American history to demagogues offering simple answers to complex problems.
The solution isn’t complicated: speak honestly about economic inequality, offer bold solutions that match the scale of the crisis, and meet young voters where they actually are—on social media platforms, through peer networks, and in authentic conversations about the issues that define their daily lives.
Democrats have the right values and the right policies. What we lack is the savviness to communicate them in ways that actually connect with the Americans whose futures depend on our success.
The choice is simple: evolve or become irrelevant.
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I wonder how many young gentlemen in CD 7 will vote for Foxx just because she’s a babe. 😉
I find her ethnicity interesting, as Deja is Filipina/Irish with some Native American (undisclosed tribe).
“The solution isn’t complicated: speak honestly about economic inequality, offer bold solutions that match the scale of the crisis”
Gosh, if only there was someone who we could model, someone considered the greatest POTUS of all time, the “GOATPOTUS”, who guided America through economic uncertainty and war and who’s policies helped create the Greatest Middle Class in history.
Just gonna’ leave FDR’s Second Bill of Rights here in case anyone needs a copy:
Employment (right to work)
An adequate income for food, shelter, and recreation
Farmers’ rights to a fair income
Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies
Decent housing
Adequate medical care
Social security
Education
While Mamdani wins elections and AOC and Sanders pack the house, Dems keep marching dinosaurs like Hillary Wall Street Kissinger, Chuck “Hey AZ, Sinema is your gal!” Schumer, “Insider Trading is Good” Pelosi, and James “Slick WIlly didn’t rape them thar trailer trash wimin’s” Carville in front of America’s youth and continue the Clinton policies of sucking corporate teat using both hands to keep steady,
Then Dems yammer on about how D’s and R’s are not the same while moving to the right to win elections thereby confirming some people’s belief that the right must be right because why else would Dems move right OMG this timeline is making it harder for my brain to do any braining every day.
Oh, I see the convicted rapist and felon is going to host an MMA fight on the White House front yard in yet another big fuck you to my brain.
Cool, cool.
I appreciate your comment. As the article notes, the future of the Democratic party is in young people.
The Arizona State Democratic party will soon sort out its problems with its chair. In the meantime the Pima county Democratic party has established a solid young Democrats group.
Democrats of Greater Tucson already has five out of 12 board members who are under 30. The DGT is sharpening it’s offerings to appeal to a broader spectrum of Democrats. Stay tuned. You will be hearing more from me
Great post. I tried to forward it to my LD Chair and the Maricopa County Party Chair because I want my support to go to efforts such as those you suggest. Hope it gets through. Thanks for writing it.
I agree with this diagnosis, but with one addition: if nearly everything that voters hear from Democrats is an appeal for money, it becomes the primary message. Obviously campaigns need money, but making that message a constant drone drowns out a potential connection based on shared values. Vendors might howl, but such a change in emphasis might give Democrats a chance to establish an actual brand.
I have to 2nd what Nelson said:
As a D, I receive lots of emais/texts from various D campaigns/organizations, and pretty much all are immediately deleted/ignored because they can each be summarized with one word.
Gimme.
I’m a D, and I’ve decided that, but the primary purpose of most messaging for D candidates/organizations is to appease the consultant/vendor class and not about speaking to voters who haven’t made up their minds.
It’s gotten worse. There’s one senatorial campaign that keeps texting asking for money. I add them to the blocked number list and then they repeat the appeal from a different number. Must have blocked at least 15 numbers from the same candidate.
Agreed gents. The panhandling needs to stop.