People In New York City Have Elected This 34-Year-Old Politician As Its First Muslim And South Asian Mayor
Zohran Mamdani charmed New Yorkers by talking directly to the communities voting for him, attracting young people, immigrants and progressive voters.
People in New York City have elected their first-ever Muslim and South Asian mayor and the youngest in more than a century.
34-year-old Zohran Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1991 to political scientist Mahmood Mamdani and acclaimed Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair, moving to New York with his family at the age of seven.
Mamdani ran on a democratic socialist campaign focused largely on affordability and solving working-class issues by taxing corporations and individuals earning above US$1 million annually.
He campaigned for rent freezes, free city buses, universal childcare, increasing the minimum wage by 2030, building affordable housing and city-owned grocery stores to reduce food costs.
Mamdani charmed New Yorkers by talking directly to the communities voting for him, attracting young people, immigrants and progressive voters.
He faced opposition with anti-Islam attacks and political smears, particularly focused on his criticism of Israel's genocide in Gaza and his Muslim identity.
In an interview in December 2024, he said that he would arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Netanyahu visited New York while he was the mayor.
US president Donald Trump had endorsed Mamdani’s opponent Andrew Cuomo, a former governor who sexually harassed 11 women during his time as governor, according to an independent investigation led by the New York Attorney General in 2021.
Trump, meanwhile, called Mamdani a “communist” and threatened to cut federal funding to New York if Mamdani wins.
At least 26 members of American billionaire families also spent more than US$22 million to stop Mamdani and failed, according to Al Jazeera.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, in a landslide victory, Mamdani won approximately 50.4% of the vote, and Cuomo, who ran as an independent, received about 41.6%.
Mamdani received 1,036,051 votes, the highest recorded for any New York City mayoral candidate since 1965, according to Al Jazeera.
Mandani, who is married to Syrian artist Rama Duwaji, will be sworn in as mayor on Jan. 1, 2026, replacing disgraced mayor Eric Adams, who was investigated for bribery and fraud.
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