Zohran Mamdani: the game-changing millennial set to be mayor of NYC

Image - Bingjiefu He‍

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In the humid early hours of a June night in Long Island City, Zohran Mamdani made his way up the steps to make his victory speech, smiling and shaking hands as he went. The beam on his face grew upon reaching the stage, as the true mass of his support became visible.

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He raised a grateful hand to the crowd.

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“Thank you, my friends. Tonight, we made history.”

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He knew his life had just changed forever. The 33-year-old had just taken a huge step towards becoming mayor of America’s biggest city.

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Mamdani was able to topple billionaire-backed establishment heavyweight Andrew Cuomo, winning the primary with 56% of the vote to become the main Democratic nominee for the mayorship of New York City. With a strong 20-point lead in the polls, he’ll now take on incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, as well as Cuomo (running as an independent) in a general election in November.

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Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani moved to Cape Town when he was five. The family then relocated to Upper Manhattan in 1998. While this may resemble all the hallmarks of the American Dream in action – the Ugandan-born son of immigrants defeating one of the biggest figures in establishment politics - Mamdani has clarified that his upbringing was incomparable to the struggles faced by many immigrants seeking a better life in New York:

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“I would say I had a privileged upbringing. I never had to want for something, and yet I knew that was not in any way the reality for most New Yorkers.” His parents: renowned scholar of political science Mahmood Mamdani and Oscar nominated filmmaker, Mira Nair.  

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In his early career, Mamdani worked as foreclosure prevention housing councillor. Working with priced-out New Yorkers staring down the barrel of eviction from their homes inspired him to run for the New York state assembly in 2020:

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“This campaign is really built around homes, ensuring every New Yorker has a place to live. We can do this by passing a homes guarantee, which would make housing a right rather than something you can access through the market.”

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Since winning in 2020, Mamdani has since been re-elected unopposed twice.

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He announced his mayoral candidacy in October last year. Starting with just 1 point in the polls in back in February, Mamdani’s promises and infectious energy quickly gathered attention.

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Without the reported $25 million of backing that Cuomo racked up from business interests, the aesthetic of the Mamdani campaign was different. A savvy social media team kept him accessible to younger voters, whilst cosy but energetic rallies appealed to those slightly less online.    

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The millennial’s relatable and fresh approach was on show at a televised debate in June. Each Democratic mayoral candidate was asked about their prospective first foreign visit as mayor. Andrew Cuomo and Scott Stringer picked Israel, as did Whitney Tilson, but not before bragging that it would be his fourth trip to the country. When asked where he would go, Mamdani simply said, “I would stay in New York City. My plans are to address New Yorkers across the five boroughs and focus on that.”

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Part of Mamdani’s appeal has been his stance on the ongoing crisis in Palestine. His vows to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, should the Prime Minister of Israel come to the city under his mayorship – as well as his outspoken support for Gaza – boosted his popularity with voters. But at the same time, Mamdani was keen to assure Jewish New Yorkers that he would not turn his back on them as mayor:  

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“I hear them, and I have heard them over the course of this campaign… I will protect Jewish New Yorkers.

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To New Yorkers who disagree with me… on the question of the Israeli government’s policies: that disagreement, I know, is rooted in a shared sense of humanity.”

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Sure enough, Jewish New Yorkers have mostly rallied behind Mamdani: “we felt relief to hear a candidate refuse to position New York Jews as a proxy for a government committing genocide.” said Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action (who have since endorsed Mamdani).

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The housing affordability crisis in the city is the most important issue for many voters in this election. More middle-of-the-road New Yorkers, who would usually lean towards the more moderate Cuomo, shifted to Mamdani in the primaries over his rent freeze pledges.

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With promises of free bus travel, universal childcare and city-run supermarkets, Mamdani was also able to bridge both generational and ethnic divides to claim a comfortable victory in the Hispanic, Asian and White demographics.  

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But these mouth-watering promises naturally raised some eyebrows. When asked about funding them, Mamdani answered:

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“We would do so by increasing by the state cooperate tax rate…we will raise taxes on the top corporate earners.” One particular New York corporate earner (now residing in the White House) did not take Mamdani’s victory very well:

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“I think he’s terrible, he’s a communist. The last thing we need is a communist…it’s bad news.”

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“Frankly I’ve heard he’s a total nutjob, I think the people of New York are crazy, if they go down this route.”

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President Trump is already drawing the battle lines with Mamdani. Outside the White House in July, Trump told the press: “He has to come right to this building to get his money, and don’t worry he’s not going to run away with anything.”

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Trump has gone as far as threatening Mamdani with arrest, should he fail to comply with ICE raids if elected. The President also dusted off his well-practised skills in falsely claiming that his opponents of an ethnic minority are illegitimate in some way - floating the claim that Mamdani is an illegal immigrant, despite being naturalised as a US citizen in 2018.

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It's clear that Trump believes Mamdani will likely win in November – he’s already employing his tactics of intimidation. But this time, Trump may also have planned something more subtle to derail the Mamdani campaign - reportedly offering a job in his administration to incumbent Mayor Adams, if he quits the race. The intended result would be that Andrew Cuomo sweeps up votes from more moderate New Yorkers who would have backed Adams.

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But whether this comes to pass or not, Mamdani remains the strong favourite, and his mayorship would shatter the status-quo. Not only would he become the youngest mayor of New York in a century, but also the first South-Asian and the first Muslim to hold the office.

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But aside from the records, Mamdani’s popularity with New Yorkers of every colour and religion shows that this young State Assemblyman has a unifying quality rarely seen in America’s political climate today.

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In November, we will find out whether New Yorkers embrace his vision for their city.