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Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani in 2025
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 36th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Preceded byAravella Simotas
Personal details
Born
Zohran Kwame Mamdani

(1991-10-18) October 18, 1991 (age 33)
Kampala, Uganda
CitizenshipUnited States (since 2018)[1]
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
(m. 2025)
Parents
EducationBowdoin College (BA)
Signature
Website

Zohran Kwame Mamdani[c] (born October 18, 1991) is an American politician who has served as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district, based in Queens, since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he is the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election.

The son of academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair, Mamdani was born in Uganda and briefly lived in South Africa. He immigrated to the United States when he was seven years old and settled in New York City. After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, Mamdani earned a bachelor's degree in Africana studies from Bowdoin College. He worked as a housing counselor and hip-hop musician before entering politics. He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, after defeating four-term incumbent Aravella Simotas, and has since been reelected without opposition.

In 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in the 2025 mayoral election. His campaign platform includes support for free city buses, public child care, city-owned grocery stores, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, and building affordable social housing units.[6][7] He is a critic of the Israeli government. During the Democratic primaries, Mamdani received several endorsements from prominent progressive politicians, including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and became the party's presumptive nominee after Andrew Cuomo conceded the race.[8] If elected, Mamdani would be the first Muslim,[9] first Indian American,[10] and first millennial mayor of New York City.[11]

Early life and education

Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda.[12][13] His father is Mahmood Mamdani, an Indian expatriate in Uganda and postcolonial studies professor at Columbia University, of Gujarati Shia Muslim descent,[14][15] and his mother is Mira Nair, an Indian-American filmmaker of Hindu Punjabi descent and recipient of the Padma Bhushan award.[16][17][18][19][20] His father gave him the middle name Kwame, in honor of Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana.[18][21]

When he was five, Mamdani and his family moved to Cape Town, South Africa.[13] He attended St. George's Grammar School while his father worked at the University of Cape Town.[21] The family moved to New York City when Mamdani was seven, living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.[22] He graduated from the Bank Street School for Children and the Bronx High School of Science.[22] Mamdani attended Bowdoin College in Maine, where he co-founded the school's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. He graduated in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Africana studies.[23][24]

Career

Before running for office, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention and housing counselor, assisting lower-income nonwhite home-owners in Queens with eviction notices and efforts to remain in their homes.[25] He said the experience motivated him to run for office to address the housing and affordability crisis.[25][26]

Music career

Mamdani is a fan of hip-hop and has composed and produced rap music.[27] In 2016, under the rap moniker Young Cardamom, he collaborated with Ugandan rapper HAB on an EP titled Sidda Mukyaalo, which is Luganda for "No going back to the village".[28] In 2019, he released a single titled "Nani" under the moniker Mr. Cardamom.[29] Cookbook author and actress Madhur Jaffrey is featured in the single's music video, playing Mamdani's grandmother.[30]

Early career in politics

Mamdani entered New York City politics as a volunteer for Ali Najmi's campaign in the 2015 special election for the 23rd district of the City Council.[18][27] In 2017, Mamdani joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and worked for the campaign of New York City Council candidate Khader El-Yateem, a Palestinian Lutheran minister and democratic socialist from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.[18] Mamdani served as the campaign manager for Ross Barkan's 2018 bid for the New York State Senate and was also a field organizer for fellow democratic socialist Tiffany Cabán's 2019 campaign for Queens County District Attorney.[18][31]

New York State Assembly (2020–present)

Mamdani at the Resist Fascism Rally in Bryant Park (October 27, 2024)

In October 2019, Mamdani announced his campaign to represent New York's 36th State Assembly district, which encompasses Astoria and Long Island City in Queens.[32][33] He was endorsed by the DSA,[34] running on a platform of housing reform, police and prison reform, and public ownership of utilities.[32] Mamdani's June 2020 primary victory over four-term Democratic incumbent Aravella Simotas took almost a month to call,[35] and he won the general election with no Republican opposition in November.[36] Mamdani was reelected without opposition in 2022[37] and 2024.[38]

Mamdani is a member of the DSA's nine-member "State Socialists in Office" bloc in New York and a member of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York.[18][39][40]

As of January 2025, Mamdani was a member of nine Assembly committees: Committee on Aging; Committee on Cities; Committee on Election Law; Committee on Energy; Committee on Real Property Taxation; Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus; Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force; Asian Pacific American Task Force; and Task Force on New Americans.[41]

Mamdani had been the primary sponsor of 20 bills in the Assembly—three of which became law—and the co-sponsor of 238 bills as of May 2025.[42] As of June, he was the only state legislator in the mayoral race not to miss a session in Albany in 2025.[43]

In this role, he cited among his accomplishments winning over $100 million in the state budget for increased subway service, launching a successful fare-free bus pilot, and organizing New Yorkers to defeat a proposed dirty power plant.[43][26][44]

2025 New York City mayoral campaign

Volunteers for Mamdani

On October 23, 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in 2025.[45] His platform includes support for free city buses and a rent freeze in rent-stabilized housing.[46] Mamdani also wants the city government to operate five grocery stores—one in each borough—to drive down grocery prices.[47] If elected, Mamdani would be New York's first Muslim mayor.[48]

U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Mamdani as her first choice for New York City mayor, saying, "Mamdani has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack."[49] She appeared at a rally for Mamdani, where she voiced her support for his candidacy and criticized his main opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo, saying: "Not ranking Cuomo [...] is the right thing to do to turn the page on the future of a Democratic party that does not continue to repeat the mistakes that have landed us here. We can never get past Donald Trump if we continue to elect the same people and make the same decisions that got us here in the first place."[50] On June 13, Mamdani and Brad Lander cross-endorsed each other in the primary.[51] On June 16, Mamdani and Michael Blake cross-endorsed each other.[52] Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Mamdani, saying: "Our nation faces a fundamental choice: Will we continue with a corporate-dominated politics driven by billionaires or will we build a grass-roots movement fueled by everyday people, committed to fighting oligarchy, authoritarianism, and kleptocracy?"[53] He reiterated his support on the platform X, with a post reading, "At this dangerous moment in history, status quo politics isn't good enough. We need new leadership that is prepared to stand up to powerful corporate interests & fight for the working class."[54]

Also on June 16, the editorial board of The New York Times wrote that it did "not believe that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers' ballots", calling his experience "too thin" and likening his agenda to "a turbocharged version of Mr. de Blasio's dismaying mayoralty".[55] The Atlantic's Michael Powell likened his campaign to magical realism, claiming it was "exuberantly disconnected from actual government budgets and organizational charts."[6] Donald Trump called him a "100 percent Communist lunatic". The New York Times' chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman noted the contrast between those sorts of descriptors and Mamdani's preferred dress code, which for the entirety of his mayoral campaign consisted almost exclusively of a traditional suit and tie. "Dressing like an establishment guy offers a counterargument of its own", she said.[56]

For most of the campaign, Mamdani trailed Cuomo in polling. While he and Cuomo raised similar amounts of money, his donor base was considerably larger than Cuomo's.[57] However, one poll taken shortly before the June 24, 2025 primary election showed that Mamdani had caught up to Cuomo.[58] First-choice results on election night showed Mamdani had a large lead over Cuomo,[59][60] who conceded the race to Mamdani that evening.[61] The result, which has not yet become official, is considered a major upset.[62]

Shortly after Mamdani became the presumptive Democratic nominee, Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) wrote Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging that Mamdani had concealed support for terrorism when he applied to become a citizen, and asking Bondi to revoke Mamdani's citizenship and deport him. In a tweet about his letter, Ogles referred to Mamdani as "little muhammad" and "antisemitic, socialist, communist".[63]

Zohran Mamdani's election advertisements used scenes from the Hindi-language Bollywood movie Deewaar, featuring Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan.[64]

Political positions

Mamdani began to identify as a democratic socialist after Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign.[31] He is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[40][47]

Childcare and education

Mamdani supports a universal pre-kindergarten childcare system.[65][66][67] He has proposed giving all new New York City families "baby baskets" containing products such as diapers and nursing supplies.[68] Mamdani introduced a bill to eliminate New York University's and Columbia University's state property tax exemption and direct those funds to the City University of New York system, which has historically struggled with funding.[69]

Crime

Mamdani has argued that increasing policing and incarceration does little to prevent harm and that "dignified work, economic stability, and well-resourced neighborhoods" better create public safety.[70] He has advocated a more community-based approach to reducing crime, focusing on homeless outreach and anti-violence programs. He contends that there is too much reliance on police to fix societal problems, saying, "Police have a critical role to play, but right now we are relying on them to deal with the failures of the social safety net of reliance that is preventing them from doing their actual jobs."[71] He has proposed a department of community safety to expand mental health outreach.[47]

Economic policy

Mamdani has advocated capping rent increases, strengthening tenant protections, and creating a Social Housing Development Agency that would build publicly owned affordable housing.[72] He wants to build 200,000 new units of affordable, rent-stabilized homes over the next 10 years and double the amount of spending to rehabilitate homes for the city's 400,000 public housing tenants.[73] He also wants to "increase density around mass transit hubs" and "upzone wealthier neighborhoods", citing housing policies in Jersey City and Tokyo as better examples.[74]

Mamdani supports raising New York City's minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030.[75]

Mamdani supports an increase in corporate taxes in New York State from 7.25% to 11.5%, to match those of New Jersey.[76] He also supports a new 2% increase for income tax on city residents who earn more than $1 million a year,[73] to raise $20 billion to fund tuition-free CUNY and SUNY schools, statewide universal childcare, a subway fare freeze, free MTA buses, and tenant protections.[16]

In 2021, Mamdani went on a hunger strike alongside taxi drivers with the Taxi Workers Alliance and Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou to advocate for debt relief among taxi medallion owners.[77]

Environment

Mamdani views climate action as essential to achieving social justice in New York City. In 2021, he organized volunteers and lobbied Governor Kathy Hochul to prevent the expansion of a gas-fired peaker power plant in Astoria, citing environmental concerns for low-income nonwhite communities.[78][79] Mamdani has also backed statewide measures such as the All-Electric Buildings Act, which prohibits installing fossil fuel equipment (e.g., gas stoves) in new buildings, and supported introducing congestion pricing in Manhattan to reduce traffic-related emissions.[80][81]

As a mayoral candidate, Mamdani proposed a comprehensive decarbonization and resilience agenda. His "Green Schools for a Healthier New York City" blueprint would retrofit 500 public school buildings with rooftop solar arrays and upgraded HVAC systems, build 500 green schoolyards, transforming heat-absorbing asphalt into green space serving students and community residents , and convert 50 schools into year-round resilience hubs to offer shelter and resources during extreme heat, storms, or flooding, and extend tax incentives such as J-51 benefits to support building owners’ compliance with Local Law 97.[80][82]

Middle East international relations

Mamdani is deeply critical of Israel, accusing it of committing apartheid and genocide.[83] He supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.[84]

Early in 2023, Mamdani introduced a bill called the "Not on our dime!: Ending New York Funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act", which would prohibit registered charities from donating to organizations involved in illegal West Bank settlements; a later iteration of the bill added to that organizations lending support to any war crimes in Gaza.[85][40][86] The day after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel, Mamdani issued a statement which condemned Israel but made no mention of Hamas.[87] He would later characterize the Hamas attacks as a "horrific war crime."[86] On October 13, 2023, he was among several protesters arrested during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in New York City, part of a series of protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.[88][89][90]

In 2025, Mamdani declined to sign on to the annual New York Assembly resolution celebrating the anniversary of Israel's founding[91] because it contained the wording that Israel "continues to strive for peace with security and dignity for itself, its neighbors and throughout the world in order to fulfill the prophecy of becoming a light unto the nations", which Mamdani's spokesman said was "belied by the conduct of the right-wing government over the past 18 months".[91] His decision drew criticism from Assembly member Sam Berger, who also criticized Mamdani's condemnation of Israel during the Gaza war.[91] In response, Mamdani said he abhorred antisemitism and acknowledged Israel's right to exist,[84] but has not said whether he believes it has a right to exist as a Jewish state, saying instead that Israel "has a right to exist as a state with equal rights for all its citizens".[92][87] He has said that if Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to New York City, he should be arrested in accordance with the International Criminal Court's warrant.[93]

Mamdani was criticized for not co-sponsoring the Assembly's annual resolution for Holocaust Remembrance Day between 2022 and 2025; his campaign responded that he had voted for the resolutions and cited his social media posts from those years commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day.[91][94] Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a left-wing organization in New York City, defended Mamdani, saying that his record was being misrepresented and that his policies would improve the lives of New Yorkers.[94]

In June 2025, while campaigning for New York City mayor on the podcast The Bulwark, Mamdani was asked about the phrase "globalize the Intifada". He described it as a symbolic call for Palestinian human rights, not for violence or antisemitism, adding, "These words have different meanings for many different people... I've been clear that any incitement to violence is something that I'm in opposition to." He said the word "intifada" has been used by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Arabic translations referring to Jewish resistance during World War II.[95] The interview received condemnation from the museum itself and Jewish public figures including Florida U.S. representative Ted Deutch, former World Jewish Congress vice president Marc Schneier, Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, and New York U.S. representative Dan Goldman.[96][95][97] Fellow mayoral candidate and Jewish New York City Comptroller, Brad Lander, defended Mamdani, saying, "I don't like the phrase... but I do believe he will protect Jewish New Yorkers and our rights."[98][96][99] After Mamdani became the presumptive nominee, U.S. representative and prominent New York Jewish leader Jerry Nadler endorsed him, saying he had spoken with Mamdani and that he would join him in fighting against hate.[87]

The New York Times wrote that Mamdani's victory in the June 2025 Democratic mayoral primary "offered the starkest evidence yet that outspoken opposition to Israel and its government — and even questioning its existence as a Jewish state — is increasingly acceptable to broader swaths of the party, even in areas where pro-Israel Jews have long been a bedrock part of the Democratic coalition."[87]

Social issues

Mamdani supported Proposal 1, a 2024 amendment to the Constitution of New York that made it unconstitutional to engage in discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), pregnancy and pregnancy-related outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.[100][101][102]

LGBTQ+ rights

In February 2025, Mamdani appeared at a rally in Union Square to protest an executive order signed by President Trump that threatened to "withhold federal funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming treatments to trans youth".[103][104]

As part of his mayoral platform for NYC, Mamdani supports expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide. He proposes an immediate investment of $65 million for public providers to offer medical treatment and ensure hospital accountability. He also aims to establish NYC as an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city and establish the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs to "expand and centralize the services, programs, and support that LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers need across housing, employment, and more."[105][106]

Transportation

Mamdani supports permanently eliminating bus fares.[107] He advocated for an MTA bus fare-free pilot program,[108][109] which was launched on the Q4, B60, Bx18, M116 and S46/96 routes in September 2023.[110][111] The program saw a 30% increase in ridership on weekdays, predominantly from people earning less than $28,000 a year. Across the five routes made free, assaults on bus operators dropped by 38.9%.[112] The fare-free program ended in August 2024 after state lawmakers did not reauthorize it.[113][114] In response, Mamdani said, "the MTA was opposed to this program ... because they were saying that now is not the time to create any kind of confusion around fare collection."[108][115] He estimates that it would cost New York City $650 million per year to eliminate bus fares.[116]

In December 2022, Mamdani introduced a series of bills for the 2023 session called "Fix the MTA". He proposed free bus travel over the next four years across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and then Manhattan and Staten Island.[117] The Formula Three Act would fill the $2.5 billion shortfall of the MTA with another plank freezing fares at $2.75. Another plank would have set aside further money for more frequency, such as six-minute headways for trains and the 100 most-used bus routes, then using any additional funds to increase service by 20%.[118]

In 2023, Mamdani co-introduced a bill to enact a weight-based vehicle-registration fee to dissuade people from owning heavier vehicles in an effort to make streets safer.[119] Mamdani supports congestion pricing and drafted a bill with New York state senator Michael Gianaris titled "Get Congestion Pricing Right" to increase bus service frequency and increase the number of fare-free buses.[120]

Personal life

In 2018, Mamdani was naturalized as an American citizen.[1] He is a Shia Muslim and identifies with the Twelver branch.[23][121][122] He married Syrian American artist Rama Duwaji in early 2025.[123] As of 2025, the two live in an apartment in Astoria.[18] Mamdani supports the English soccer team Arsenal, and is a fan of the New York Mets baseball team and the New York Giants football team.[124][125]

Besides English, Mamdani has used other languages during his mayoral campaign, showing different degrees of proficiency in Hindi-Urdu, Bengali and Spanish.[126][64][127][128][129]

Electoral history

New York State Assembly elections

2020 New York State Assembly 36th district election[130][131]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zohran Mamdani 8,410 51.20%
Democratic Aravella Simotas (incumbent) 7,986 48.62%
Write-in 30 0.18%
Total votes 16,426 100.00%
Blank/Spoiled 976
General election
Democratic Zohran Mamdani 38,221 98.46%
Write-in 596 1.54%
Total votes 38,817 100.00%
Blank/Spoiled 11,957
2022 New York State Assembly 36th district election[132]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zohran Mamdani (incumbent) 18,636 76.29%
Working Families Zohran Mamdani (incumbent) 5,454 22.33%
Total Zohran Mamdani (incumbent) 24,090 98.62%
Write-in 338 1.38%
Total votes 24,428 100.00%
Blank/Spoiled 6,038
2024 New York State Assembly 36th district election[133]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zohran Mamdani (incumbent) 30,161 78.33%
Working Families Zohran Mamdani (incumbent) 7,750 20.13%
Total Zohran Mamdani (incumbent) 37,911 98.45%
Write-in 596 1.55%
Total votes 38,507 100.00%
Blank/Spoiled 10,804

New York City mayoral elections

2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary
(93% reported as of June 27)
Candidate Round 1
Votes %
Zohran Mamdani 432,305 43.51%
Andrew Cuomo 361,840 36.42%
Brad Lander 112,349 11.31%
Adrienne Adams 40,953 4.12%
Scott Stringer 16,387 1.65%
Zellnor Myrie 9,870 0.99%
Whitney Tilson 7,828 0.79%
Michael Blake 3,992 0.40%
Jessica Ramos 3,862 0.39%
Paperboy Prince 1,417 0.14%
Selma Bartholomew 1,328 0.13%
Write-in 1,415 0.14%
Total counted votes 993,546 100.00%
Source: Associated Press[134]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Elected on both Democratic Party and WFP ballot lines in New York via electoral fusion.
  2. ^ Democratic Socialists of America is not a registered political party. Instead, it is a political organization for those with democratic socialist ideologies. He is endorsed by the New York City chapter.
  3. ^ English pronunciation: /zəˈrɑːn ˈkwɑːm məmˈdɑːni/ zə-RAHN KWAH-may məm-DAH-nee;[2][failed verification][according to whom?] Hindi: ज़ोहरान क्वामे ममदानी,[3] Urdu: زُہران کوامے ممدانی,[4] pronounced [zoːˈɦɾaːn ˈkwaːmeː məmˈdaːniː].[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Mays, Jeffery C. (June 3, 2025). "In N.Y.C. Mayor's Race, Mamdani Responds to a Call for His Deportation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 3, 2025. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  2. ^ "Zohran K. Mamdani – Assembly District 36 – Video". Assembly Member Directory. New York State Assembly. June 6, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  3. ^ Singh, Anshul (June 25, 2025). "ज़ोहरान ममदानी: न्यूयॉर्क मेयर का चुनाव लड़ रहे भारतीय मूल के नेता कौन हैं?" (in Hindi). BBC News. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  4. ^ "زوہران ممدانی نیو یارک کے محنت کش طبقے کے لیے زندگی کی لاگت کم کرنے کے لئے میئر کے عہدے کے لیے دوڑ رہے ہیں۔". Zohran for NYC (in Urdu). Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  5. ^ Zohran explains Ranked Choice Voting in Urdu/Hindi. Zohran for NYC (in Urdu). June 4, 2025. Event occurs at 1:38. Retrieved June 26, 2025 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ a b Powell, Michael (June 18, 2025). "The Magic Realism of Zohran Mamdani". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 24, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
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  19. ^ "Mira Nair". EBESCO. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
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  36. ^ Shankar, Soumya (November 4, 2020). "New York elects first South Asian Americans to state Assembly". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
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New York State Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 36th district

2021–present
Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City
Presumptive

2025
Most recent