He is filmmaker Mira Nair’s son whose middle name is Kwame.
He has tried his hand at rapping.
He is an assemblyman from Queens.
He is a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist.
And until a few months ago, he was a rank outsider who no one took seriously in the fight to be New York’s next Mayor. Now he’s the main contender.
A few months ago, few gave him an outside chance of surviving in the Democratic primary (which is the U.S term for the selection process within the political party). With a budget that was much lower than his opponent Andrew Cuomo, who is also former Governor of New York state, Zohran Mamdani won convincingly.
Zohran Mamdani emerges from nowhere to take on former Governor Cuomo
Curiously, as the Democratic Party’s official candidate, he faces Cuomo once again. How? That’s because Andrew Cuomo lost the party’s primary but he’s now contesting as an independent and Donald Trump favours him over Mamdani. In the run up to this election, New York’s current mayor Eric Adams, initially threw his hat in the ring as an independent but then withdrew from the contest once it was clear he didn’t have much support. He is supporting Cuomo.
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran Mamdani, who turned 34 this month, has used an unorthodox campaign that grabbed eyeballs and turned out to be the clutter-breaker in the primaries. He got youngsters to sign up and even go door-to-door seeking support from New Yorkers for Mamdani.
Mamdani is an American of Indian origin. His mother is filmmaker Mira Nair and his father, Mehmood Mamdani, is an academic. Zohran emigrated to the U.S. as a child. He is a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist whose campaign was rooted in progressive and democratic socialist ideas: free public buses, a rent freeze on rent-stabilised housing, universal child care, a $30 minimum wage by 2030, and city-owned grocery stores to drive down food costs. Some politicians, Democrats included, have called his ideas too radical and unworkable.
Mamdani built a large volunteer base, leveraged social media and appealed to younger, more progressive, and minority voters who felt left behind by the city’s economic and housing pressures. While business and establishment Democrats remain cautious about his agenda and viability, his victory in the primary showed his unexpected strength.
His views on Israel’s war in Gaza and Netanyahu have polarised Democrats. His past comments on ‘defunding the police’ have been used by his adversaries to question his intentions. He claims he has changed his mind since he said that.
Donald Trump has called him a ‘communist’ and even threatened to cut off federal funding for New York if Mamdani wins. Trump has also acknowledged that polls show Mamdani is head and shoulders above the other contenders in the race.
Now you might think that since Zohran Mamdani is the official candidate, he will have the support of the Democratic Party. That seems so obvious that the question may not pop up in your mind and yet, it’s not a given as we have seen in this election.
It took days for New York Governor Kathy Hochul to endorse Mamdani after he became the party’s official candidate. And it’s taken influential Minority Party Leader Hakim Jeffries much longer to finally https://cvetraspasa.cve.es/ endorse Mamdani though he acknowledged that he doesn’t agree with every plan the young Assemblyman has.
Early voting has started in New York to pick the city’s next mayor. It’s an election that has attracted overwhelming attention this time around because of the contenders.
It’s Zohran Mamdani, who is the clear frontrunner. He faces Republican party’s Curtis Sliwa and Independent Andrew Cuomo.
New Yorkers decide on November 4, 2025.