Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim of South Asian origin, stunned political observers in dealing a crushing defeat to heavyweight former Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, as he appeared poised to become the Democratic candidate for mayor of the United States’ biggest city.
If Mamdani, a state assemblyman, wins the mayoral election in November, he will become the first Muslim, Indian-origin mayor in New York City’s history.
As vote counts poured in, Mamdani invoked Nelson Mandela as he tweeted early Wednesday morning: “It always seems impossible until it’s done. My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it. I am honoured to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City.”
Cuomo, the former governor of New York State, who resigned in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal, addressed an event in Manhattan after calling Mamdani to congratulate him. “Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night, and he put together a great campaign,” he said. “And he touched young people, and inspired them, and moved them, and got them to come out and vote. And he really ran a highly impactful campaign.”
In Mamdani’s expected win, political analysts believe there are larger lessons for the Democratic Party, still grappling with its loss in the 2024 presidential and Congressional elections.
So who is Zohran Mamdani? What were his poll promises, and how did he upset poll predictions to emerge the likely winner of the Democratic primary? And what are his views on Gaza, a major campaign issue this year?
What happened in the Democratic primary?
In the first-choice round of ranked-choice voting in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary on June 24, Mamdani led with 43.5 percent of the vote, nearly 432,000 votes, while Cuomo followed with 36.4 percent, or 361,800 votes.
Comptroller Brad Lander, another progressive contender, came in third with 11.3 percent, and the remaining votes were split among other minor candidates.
Since no candidate secured more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, New York’s ranked-choice system kicked in. Candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated in successive rounds, and their supporters’ second-choice preferences were redistributed.
Mamdani reportedly picked up a significant share of Lander’s voters and other progressives, pushing him on the path to cross the majority threshold. While it might be days before final results are declared, Mamdani’s win appears all but certain, as demonstrated by Cuomo’s concession.
Was Mamdani’s win expected?
Not really. In the weeks leading up to the Democratic mayoral primary, most major polls projected Cuomo as the frontrunner, though they did show support for Mamdani picking up as the election drew closer.
A Marist Poll conducted on June 18, just six days before the primary, showed Cuomo leading the pack with 38 percent of first-choice votes. Mamdani trailed with 27 percent. The poll also simulated ranked-choice outcomes and forecast that Cuomo would eventually reach a 55 percent majority in later rounds, suggesting strong second- and third-choice support among voters.
Similarly, an earlier Emerson College poll from late May showed Cuomo held 37 percent of the first-choice vote, while Mamdani came in at 17 percent. A more dated Siena/AARP poll from April put Cuomo even further ahead, with 39 percent of the vote compared with Mamdani’s 15 percent.
Cuomo had name recognition that is almost unmatched in New York – his father, Mario Cuomo, was also a governor of the state. He had a well-funded campaign that flooded airwaves and mailboxes across the city.
But Mamdani’s grassroots campaign – powered by volunteers, small-dollar donations, and strong turnout among younger voters – proved decisive. He targeted working-class New Yorkers, particularly in Queens, Brooklyn, and parts of Manhattan.
Cuomo and other Democrats had criticised Mamdani as unfit for the NYC mayor’s office, arguing he lacked the administrative experience to navigate the city’s complex bureaucracy and manage crises effectively. On Tuesday, it became clear that their pitch did not work.
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran Kwame Mamdani is a 33-year-old Democratic Socialist and the son of Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani and Indian filmmaker Mira Nair.
Born in Kampala, Mamdani moved to New York at the age of seven. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College in Maine. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a housing counselor, assisting low-income families in preventing evictions.
In the 2020 New York State Assembly election, he was elected from the 36th district, representing Astoria, Queens.
Early this year, he married Rama Duwaji, a 27-year-old Syrian artist based in Brooklyn. Her work has been featured in publications like The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and VICE, and she also engages in animation and ceramics.
What are his views on the Gaza war?
Mamdani has been among the most vocal American elected officials criticising Israel’s war on Gaza. In an October 31, 2024, post on X, Mamdani stated, “I will always be clear in my language and based in facts: Israel is committing a genocide.”
He has also been a strong supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. At an event in Manhattan earlier this month, he linked that support to “the core of my politics, which is non-violence”.
A headline moment in his campaign came during a December 2024 interview with Mehdi Hasan, when he was asked what he would do if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited New York. Mamdani replied bluntly: “As mayor, I would have Netanyahu arrested if he came to New York!”
“This is a city [where] our values are in line with international law. It’s time that our actions are also,” he told Hasan.
Mamdani also refused to distance himself from the slogan “Globalize the Intifada”, a phrase that many Jewish leaders and conservative commentators have criticised as inflammatory and accused of being anti-Semitic.
Responding to questions about the slogan, Mamdani said on a June 2025 episode of The Bulwark podcast: “As a Muslim man who grew up post‑9/11, I’m all too familiar (with) the way in which Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted, can be used to justify any kind of meaning.” He added that the slogan was rather about solidarity with oppressed people globally – not a call to violence.
Cuomo’s campaign also picked up on Mamdani’s Muslim identity and criticised his pro-Palestine stand, alleging he has engaged in anti-Semitism. New York, where the United Nations has its headquarters, is home to the largest Jewish community in the world, outside Israel.
In a June 2025 interview, while addressing Islamophobic threats he had received, Mamdani said: “There is no room for anti-Semitism in this city or country.” He has repeatedly stressed that his critique is directed at the US and Israeli governments’ policies, not at Jews.
Mamdani’s campaign was driven by more than 22,000 grassroots volunteers and endorsements from progressive heavyweights like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Working Families Party.
What are some of his other key promises?
Mamdani’s campaign for the New York City mayor position is centered on an ambitious and progressive policy platform aimed at redistributing wealth, expanding public services, and transforming urban life.
One of his flagship proposals is to make all city buses free by 2027. Mamdani has pointed to the success of pilot programmes where fare-free buses led to higher ridership and fewer assaults on drivers.
Housing is another pillar of Mamdani’s platform, where he proposes a rent freeze on all rent-stabilised apartments and plans to establish a Social Housing Development Agency that would build publicly-owned, permanently affordable housing. He has called for stronger tenant protections and has proposed rolling back rent hikes in city-owned properties.
Mamdani has also proposed opening one municipally owned grocery store in each borough, where communities underserved by commercial chains can access affordable, healthy food options. He has pledged to expand free school-meal programmes to include city colleges, and to offer universal childcare and early education programs.
To pay for it all, Mamdani has pitched major tax reforms: Raising the corporate tax rate from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent, and imposing a 2 percent surcharge on individuals earning more than $1m per year. According to his campaign, these measures could generate up to $9.4bn annually.
On public safety, Mamdani proposed shifting resources away from the New York Police Department towards a new Department of Community Safety, which would house mental health professionals, crisis responders and outreach workers.
What’s next – and is Mamdani going to be the next mayor?
The general mayoral election for New York City will take place on November 4 this year. Mamdani will face Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who previously lost the 2021 mayoral race by a wide margin.
Once the primary results are formally announced, Mamdani will become the Democratic Party’s nominee for the November election. Given New York City’s overwhelming Democratic majority – Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 6 to 1 – he will be the firm favourite to become the city’s next mayor.
Source: Aljazeera
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