New York City Mayor Zorhan Mamdani transformed his political campaign into a viral movement on TikTok and Instagram to energize and connect directly with young voters throughout the U.S. As more politicians move to social media as a means of promotion, younger voters are inclined to focus on posts that align with modern trends. However, while social media posts can offer real-time election information, many scrolling users lack the political terminology necessary to understand the core strategies driving these digital campaigns. This guide breaks down the complex political vocabulary behind your daily feed to help you decode what candidates are really saying.
- Tariffs (n.)
Definition: A tax that a government charges on goods imported from foreign countries.
How it works: When foreign goods enter the country, the exporting business usually pays the importing government a percentage of the items’ value (ad valorem) or a fixed fee (specific tariff).
Advantages: Encourages purchasing local goods instead of lower-priced foreign items; lower dependency on foreign countries for specific goods.
Disadvantages: Significantly raises prices for local businesses and consumers
Example: President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Canadian automobiles, steel, dairy goods, etc. that took effect on August 22, 2026. This means that US businesses now have to pay 50% taxes on any goods they import from Canada, in turn increasing consumer prices.
- Gerrymander (v.)
Definition: To divide an area of land into electoral districts that unfairly favor one political party (see A Very Special Election).
How it works: Politicians redraw electoral districts every ten years, either packing as many voters from the opposing party into one district (packing) or splitting clusters of the opposing party’s voters across different districts to keep them in minority (cracking).
Advantages: Allows the construction of districts to maximize a party’s representation; weakens opposition.
Disadvantages: Individual voters matter less when boundaries are manipulated to favor a single party; the party in control can win more legislative seats than their actual share of popular votes show; weakens communities’ political influence.
Example: Following the 2010 census in North Carolina, Black voters sued the state when it increased the Black voting-age population in two districts. By doing this, the state of North Carolina decreased Black voter’s political influence in surrounding districts. It should be mentioned that the North Carolina legislation shifted the control to the Republican Party prior to this.
- Bipartisan(ship) (n.)
Definition: Involving cooperation from between two major political parties.
How it works: Lawmakers from both parties compromise when creating policies instead of arguing.
Advantages: Rules from both sides make it harder for future administrations to undo; greater legislative success.
Disadvantages: Compromise often forces lawmakers to remove popular provisions out of a bill to ensure support from the opposing party, leading to voters feeling their core interests are ignored.
Examples: United States Senators Elissa Slotkin (D) Todd Young (R) introduced a bill to ban all federal officials from placing bets in prediction markets. By working with one another, Slotkin and Young garnered a higher percentage of votes from both the democratic and republican parties in order to pass this bill.
- Incumbent (n.)
Definition: The person currently in office runs for reelection.
How it works: As long as the extent of their current term is below what the law allows, the person in the given position runs for same position again,
Advantages: Voters already know the candidate; candidate can continue implementing policies that align their beliefs,
Disadvantages: Other runners can use past failures against the candidate in the current campaign.
Examples: Former President Barack Obama began his first term in 2008, then ran again and won the presidential election in 2012. Many voters were already aware of his policies and aligned their beliefs with his campaign, allowing him to regain his seat in office.
- Astroturfing (v.)
Definition: The practice of organizing a campaign to look like a spontaneous movement.
How it works: Political groups hire people to feign support for the campaign so that the public believes everyday citizens care about an issue.
Advantages: Makes campaign’s message more credible; boosts campaign’s image; creates a bandwagon effect, causing more voters to align with what they perceive is the majority opinion.
Disadvantages: Discovery erases campaign credibility; public distrust and media backlash.
Examples: In 2009, the Americans Against Food Taxes coalition presented itself as a group of concerned citizens fighting against government taxation on everyday items. It was revealed that brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle funded the group to block beverage taxes that could cut corporate profits. The campaign used emotionally provoking messages to garner support from common people.