Zohran Mamdani: Younger Voters Like Him, and His Socialist Agenda, Too

The election of “democratic socialist” Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City has got America’s under-40 voters excited, and a majority of them want to enact his agenda nationwide.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center of the Heartland Institute finds that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters ages 18 to 39 view Mamdani favorably, including 26% with a Very Favorable opinion of the 34-year-old mayor-elect. Twenty-four percent (24%) of under-40 voters view Mamdani unfavorably, including 12% with a Very Unfavorable impression, and another 24% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The survey – completed before Mamdani won the November 4 election in New York City – shows that an overwhelming majority (74%) of voters under 40 believe the cost of housing in America has reached a crisis level. And most of them favor specific policies advocated by Mamdani, including rent freezes and government-run grocery stores.

“Zohran Mamdani is a savvy politician who makes socialism sound reasonable in soundbites on social media,” said Heartland Institute research fellow Chris Talgo, adding that Mamdami “repeats socialist slogans and presents simple solutions to complicated, intractable problems.”

(Not getting our eNewsletter? Sign up HERE. Already signed up? Try adding updates@rasmussenreports.com to your contacts or whitelisting us. Still having trouble – email subscriptions@rasmussenreports.com. If it's in the news, it's in our polls).

Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,496 U.S. Likely Voters ages 18-39 was conducted on October 31-November 2, 2025 by Rasmussen Reports and the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center of the Heartland Institute. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

A majority (51%) of under-40 voters would like to see a democratic socialist candidate win the 2028 presidential election. Thirty-two percent (32%) would not, and 17% are not sure. Eighty-six percent (86%) of Democrats ages 18-39 would like to see a democratic socialist win in 2028, while 65% of Republicans would not. Among under-40 voters not affiliated with either major party, 37% want a democratic socialist to win the presidency in 2028, 31% do not and 32% are undecided.

Among other findings of the Rasmussen Reports/Heartland Institute survey of under-40 Likely Voters:

– Mamdani's policy platform includes a proposal to freeze rent in many of New York City's apartments and to build 200,000 new rent-regulated apartments.Sixty-two percent (62%) would support a proposal in Congress to expand Mamdani's plan for more government housing and rent freeze nationwide, including 32% who would Strongly Support such a plan.

– Fifty-eight percent (58%) would support a law that would expand Mamdani's proposal for government-run grocery stores to every town in America, including 27% who Strongly Support the idea.

– Overwhelming majorities of every political and demographic category believe the cost of housing in America has reached a crisis level. Eighty-two percent (82%) of Democrats, 66% of Republicans and 71% of unaffiliated voters think the cost of housing is a crisis, as do 75% of whites, 73% of black and Hispanic voters, and 68% of other minorities.

– Under-40 voters favor Democrats by a 15-point margin in the 2028 presidential election. Forty-six percent say they’re more likely to vote for a Democrat in 2028, while 31% are more likely to vote Republican, 10% would likely vote third-party in the 2028 presidential election and 12% are not sure.

– Regardless of party, pluralities of under-40 voters would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who offered the best plan to reduce the cost of housing.

– By a six-point margin, more under-40 voters in the survey voted for Kamala Harris (45%) than for Donald Trump (39%) in last year’s presidential election. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Harris voters would like to see a democratic socialist win the White House in 2028, but 58% of Trump voters would not.

“Like it or not, socialism with a smile is resonating among young people who want to believe that these bumper sticker plans will actually address the affordability crisis that makes them feel like the American dream is no longer attainable,” said the Heartland Institute’s Talgo. “As such, it is incumbent upon leaders from both political parties to present alternative solutions to the cost-of-living crisis or else the United States of America could become the United Socialist States of America.”

Amid a swirl of controversy about former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, most voters are not sold on accusations that the popular podcaster is a dangerous antisemite.

Even though Trump’s handling of foreign policy is now rated higher than during his first term, most voters would prefer him to focus more on domestic issues. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to the public as well as to Platinum Members.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.