Members of the Yale College Democrats canvassed in New York City over the weekend before the general election, siding with Zohran Mamdani in a race that has split Democrats.
2:41 am, Nov 04, 2025
Contributing Reporter
Courtesy of Riley Getchell
Members of the Yale College Democrats canvassed for Zohran Mamdani over the weekend in advance of the New York City mayoral election taking place on Tuesday.
The trip was attended by a dozen Yale Dems members, and students supported the Mamdani campaign in a variety of ways, from knocking on doors to staffing early voting sites ahead of Election Day.
“I’ve been organizing for the better part of a half-decade and have never seen the kind of intergenerational, electrified coalition like the one I saw on Saturday,” Conor Webb ’28, the speakers director for Yale Dems, wrote in an email to the News. “People from all across the age and economic ladder gathered in Harlem on a frosty Saturday morning.”
The New York City mayoral election has drawn nationwide attention after Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker, beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary election in June. Cuomo is now running as an independent candidate against Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Though the Democratic nominee, Mamdani has not been endorsed by Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and a Democrat representing a New York City district, only endorsed Mamdani late last month.
When asked about the decision for Yale Dems to canvass for Mamdani amid division in the Democratic Party, Grace O’Grady ’27, the Yale Dems membership and inclusion coordinator, emphasized the importance of the overall movement.
“We’re in a very interesting situation, obviously,” O’Grady said. “My personal perspective is that being there was not just about the candidate, it was also largely about the process and the movement in which this is encouraging.”
During the weekend, O’Grady canvassed near Columbia University with a current graduate student and a former Columbia professor. She described Mamdani’s overall campaign as “incredibly interesting” and said “it’s been very tech savvy, it’s been very young, it’s been very modern.”
“We’re not only excited because of how progressive of a candidate he is,” she said.
Webb has been involved with the group since the beginning of his time at Yale. He canvassed for Kamala Harris, then the vice president and presidential candidate, with Yale Dems last fall.
Webb wrote that he was “lucky to knock on doors in a public housing unit” and to talk with residents “about our shared aspirations for ordinary people to get ahead.”
O’Grady highlighted the mixed demographics of people she saw campaigning over the weekend, noting the many people with their children, who had brought their families out, in addition to the younger college-aged people and elderly or retired individuals more typical among canvassers.
There were a lot of “everyday, working Americans who really saw a lot of hope and future in Zohran, and wanted to be out there and support him,” O’Grady said. “It was great that we were all coming together and doing that.”
Riley Getchell ’27 told the News that she appreciated the opportunity to interact with campaign volunteers and community members who were involved.
Over the weekend, Getchell worked on staff at an early voting site, adding that she got “nearly all positive responses” to giving out flyers.
“The volunteers coordinating the canvass were extremely organized and welcoming,” Getchell wrote in a text. “They were happy to have us and made sure that groups of us integrated with the community members who were canvassing, so we all got to know each other.
Getchell joined Yale Dems her first semester at Yale, and has been on seven canvassing trips with the group since then. This trip was the sixth that she has organized this year as the group’s elections coordinator.
Overall, members of Yale Dems were enthusiastic to be supporting Mamdani.
Webb emphasized the importance of supporting Mamdani’s campaign given the policies of the current Trump administration.
“We’re exhausted by the slouching, insipid, obsequious status quo that has left our party servile,” Webb wrote. “An administration that will let children on SNAP go hungry demands a systematic response, and too few in our party have offered one! Our team universally backs candidates who give ordinary people permission to dream again. This race is a referendum on precisely that possibility.”
On Oct. 25, the Yale College Democrats canvassed in New Haven for Mayor Justin Elicker.