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It’s Election Day in the U.S., and many eyes are focused on the New York City mayoral race, where 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani is poised to take the helm of the nation’s most populous city. The Democratic candidate — a Uganda-born, Manhattan-raised state assemblyman and Democratic socialist — rose to prominence through a grassroots campaign relentlessly focused on the high cost of living. He has vowed to "transform the most expensive city in the United States of America into one that’s affordable to each and every person who calls it home.” His sudden ascent caught many by surprise. The son of immigrants, he spent his formative years rapping, playing cricket and attending New York public schools — where he made his first, albeit unsuccessful, foray into politics. Later, he attended a prestigious university in New England before working as a housing counselor. For the past four years, he has represented parts of Queens in Albany, where he has positioned himself as a staunch advocate for the working class. Mamdani is now widely expected to win over the two other major candidates: former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, an independent, and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee. Mamdani’s victory would mark a significant milestone in the city’s 400-year history, making him the first first Muslim and South Asian mayor as well as the youngest person ever to occupy Gracie Mansion. It would also have seismic implications for the future of the Democratic Party, which has struggled to find a winning message in the era of President Donald Trump. While Mamdani has rapidly ascended in New York City’s political arena, his beginnings lie far outside the city’s limits. He was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Mira Nour, an acclaimed Indian-American filmmaker — known for directing “Salaam Bombay!” and “Mississippi Massala” — and Mahmood Mamdani, a Ugandan political scientist recognized for his scholarship on colonialism. At seven years old, he moved with his family to the Big Apple, settling in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, where his father became a professor at Columbia University, according to The New York Times. Mamdani attended the Bronx High School of Science, where he co-founded a cricket team and launched an unsuccessful bid to be student vice president — promising freshly squeezed juice on campus. Former classmates described him to the Times as a “good-not-great student.” In a bit of trivia that few politicians can claim, he also had a budding rap career, performing under the stage name Young Cardamom, according to Reuters. Upon graduation, Mamdani moved to the coast of Maine to attend Bowdoin College. Columbia, his father’s employer, did not accept him, according to The New Yorker. At the New England liberal arts school, he wrote for the school newspaper, touching on a wide range of subjects, from dancing etiquette to race relations, and spent a summer studying Arabic in Egypt. “Zohran was a very worldly person who had these experiences none of us did, like living abroad and he was just interesting”, Roth Smith, a friend of Mamdani’s during his youth, told The Telegraph. In 2014, he graduated with a degree in Africana studies, writing his thesis on French philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Frantz Fanon. Upon completing his education, Mamdani returned to New York City, working as a foreclosure prevention counselor, and becoming a naturalized citizen in 2018, according to his New York State Assembly bio. Around this time, he met his now wife, illustrator Rama Duwaji, on Hinge, a popular dating app, according to Time Magazine. “There is still hope in those dating apps,” he told The Bulwark earlier this year. His official entree into politics — inspired by his work in housing — came in 2020, when the self-described democratic socialist was elected to the New York State Assembly, defeating incumbent Democrat Aravella Simotas to represent the 36th district in Queens. During his four years in Albany, he introduced about 20 bills, just three of which were passed into law, according to The New York Times. “I wish he was a harder worker,” Democratic State Senator Jessica Ramos, who is also running for mayor, told the outlet. However, other colleagues credited Mamdani with a more intangible win: pushing the legislative body further to the left on the political spectrum. In 2024, Mamdani threw his hat into the ring to be mayor of New York City, accusing incumbent Mayor Eric Adams of being “engulfed in corruption” and focusing his campaign on affordability. “Every politician says New York is the greatest city in the world. But what good is that if no one can afford to live here?” he wrote on X. “I'm running for Mayor to lower the cost of living for working class New Yorkers.” This summer came the upset. Following a grassroots campaign and a whirlwind social media blitz, he climbed in the polls and won the Democratic primary, defeating Cuomo, who many assumed was a shoe-in. Since then, he’s collected high-profile progressive endorsements, including from New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “We need new leadership that is prepared to stand up to powerful corporate interests and fight for the working class,” Sanders said. “Mamdani is providing that vision.” Some Democratic officials, though, have refrained from publicly backing Mamdani, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Cuomo, the former Democratic governor of New York who is now running as an independent, has called him divisive and unqualified. Republicans, meanwhile, have painted Mamdani as an extreme candidate who will ruin New York City’s economy —with Trump describing him as a “100% communist lunatic.” One of the key issues in the race is the looming presence of Trump, who has already frozen billions in federal funds for the city and increased ICE operations. Mamdani has positioned himself as the candidate who would take the hardest line against the president, describing himself as “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare.” Attacking Cuomo in an interview with The Bulwark, the candidate said: “A disgraced former governor who describes undocumented immigrants as ‘illegals’ is not what we need as a city under attack by an authoritarian. “He’s not the leader we need to fight against this administration. Ultimately, you want someone who can take on bullies, not who looks just like him.” He also described ICE as “fascist.” That said, he has apologized for some previous comments about law enforcement, including a 2020 social media post which described city police as “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.” Israel has also emerged as a major election issue amidst the years-long conflict in Gaza. Mamdani has described Israel’s actions in the Palestinian enclave as a genocide, and said pledged to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if travels to New York City. While his outspoken stance has earned him praise from some Democrats, it has caused consternation among others, who worry about rising antisemitism and his failure to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.” However, the No. 1 issue Mamdani has sought to make his campaign about is tackling the rising cost of living in the city. In an effort to ease the burden on working class New Yorkers, he has laid out a slew of policy proposals, including making public buses free, freezing rents for rent-stabilized apartments and creating several city-owned grocery stores. He has also called for raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Polls show several of these proposals — including taxing the rich — are popular with New Yorkers. Meanwhile, business leaders have expressed misgivings, worrying his proposals could drive companies out of the city. But Mamdani has argued that the affordability crisis is already driving people away: hard-working New Yorkers.
