Election results offer hope of populist resuscitation

“The safe things are not always the best things” (William Faulker, As I Lay Dying). The elections of November 4 reinforced and highlighted a trend of younger candidates like Zohran Mamdani building incredible momentum and upset successes against established candidates. This trend is not localized to the United States, however, with candidates like Rob Jetten and Simon Harris also on the forefront of politics in their respective countries. Many of these young politicians have one major advantage over their elder counterparts: social media campaigns. In a time when a growing share of the voter base feels disillusioned with the ivory tower of politics, and people spend more time than ever consuming algorithmic media, highly active social media campaigns project an authenticity unlike typical television or mail advertisements. Social media campaigns make constituents feel more connected to their representatives, and candidates on both sides of the aisle, like Jetten, have moved to this populist messaging structure.

Openly gay representative Rob Jetten of the Netherlands had one of the most electric campaigns for prime minister in recent history. Jetten’s strategic use of social media involved large promises to address the housing shortage in the Netherlands. While the cities most in need of housing lack confidence in his promise to ease this issue, Jetten has remained undeterred in his attempts. Constituents seemed to follow the positive nature of the campaign much better than Jetten’s opponent’s campaign, that heavily relied on fearmongering narratives to instill dread within the Dutch population. Jetten’s internet identity has propelled his campaign forward, especially because of his fiancé Nicolás Keenan’s TikTok account. The field hockey star frequently posts everyday life content that highlights the personal side of Jetten’s personality. This personal connection has led many online to not just feel attached to the relationship between the two, but also to be supportive of Jetten’s candidacy for Prime Minister. Though unprecedented support of a candidate because of personality is not new, social media amplifies this impact, giving Jetten a large lead over his opponents without needing to focus strictly on policy messaging to the public.

On the contrary, Simon Harris is a man of action over messaging, which fast tracked his political career in a starkly different way from Jetten’s campaign. Dropping out of college in 2006 to pursue a political career, Harris hasn’t let his foot off the gas since. Beginning as a parliamentary assistant in 2008, Harris quickly climbed positions from the mandate of the people. Only six years later, Harris was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Finance, where he dealt with critical funding to prevent flood damages throughout Ireland. In 2018 while serving as Minister of Health, Harris also passed critical legislation overturning a constitutional abortion ban, and later in 2020 inputting the chief legislation to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In his current position as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defense, even more of the country's eyes will be on him as tensions in the Middle East continue to grow higher on the priority list of western voters. Harris, throughout all this, still finds time to post about Irish sporting events on his social media, and lays his views on various world issues bare on his account as well. This same pattern of authenticity to an audience online shows the growing number of voters who want rhetoric based on cutting through the haze and policy based messaging, and with a track record like Harris’, often pointing to actions is enough to speak for itself.

Similarly, though lacking Harris’ storied background in politics, Mamdani’s policy focused messaging became an inspiration for grassroots campaigns around the world. Beginning the New York City mayoral race with less than 1% support from the constituents, Mamdani turned an unwinnable campaign into a mandate from the people of the city, winning with over 50% of the vote against Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani ran a positivity charged campaign in which he portrayed himself as a symbol of hope; many of his campaign endeavors involved him interacting and engaging with the people of New York City in a fun and lighthearted way to provoke an image of humility and down to earth values to voters. Taking a page out of the book of the 2024 presidential campaigns, Mamdani utilized podcasts and social media as much as he possibly could, appearing on several independent media podcasts, as well as establishing engaging brand messaging on his public social media accounts as well. Mamdani’s appearances on popular media pages on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube often focused on his campaign’s devotion to making New York City more affordable through rent freezing, subsidized busing, and subsidized grocery store locations while taking the time to highlight his personality with conversations on his music taste, favorite food places in the city, and his love of diversity within the city and welcoming to immigrants and cultural blending. This striking balance of personality and policy spoke to not only the citizens of New York City, but a national audience, who hoped this election would be a paradigm shift within the Democratic Party from Neoliberalism to left-wing Populism messaging. Therefore, after Mamdani’s sizable victory on Nov. 4, many people suspect there will be a continuation of his messaging strategy in the spring elections as well.

If one thing is certain about all these campaigns, it’s that they mark a change in what voters want. Rather than voting for candidates with years of experience and vague campaign messaging, people are taking a liking to young candidates with passion, specific policy goals, and an authentic public image. While this change will be good for candidates who are trying to break through the established partisan lines and previously elected officials, there is still the uncertainty of its effectiveness in governing. Will these campaigns be able to live up to their momentum and promises while in office? Many older voters seem to be skeptical, but if Mamdani, Harris, and Jetten can live up to the momentum of their campaigns it might set the tone for a change in political campaigns globally, and end the strong disillusionment many now feel with the political system. When politicians listen to everyday people, the hope of a future without elitist elections and a true democracy does not seem too far away.

by Will Amel

Published December 1, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 122 Issue III