Who is Zohran Mamdani?
He was almost unheard of a year ago, now Zohran Mamdani is on the verge of becoming mayor of New York. The 34-year-old's immigrant background and socialist principles appeal to many New Yorkers, but not to Donald Trump
The biggest city in the United States will conclude voting in the 2025 mayoral election on November 4.
The withdrawal of New York's incumbent Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, in September means that the city will have a new leader: rising Democratic star Zohran Mamdani, activist and unopposed Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, or former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
Considered a huge outsider in the race, Sliwa is a conservative who hosts radio talk shows, describes himself as a populist and is known in the city for his vigilantelike Guardian Angels group, which aims to prevent crime.
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Cuomo, broadly considered a centrist, resigned from his governorship of the city in 2021 following sexual misconduct allegations. After a surprise defeat to Mamdani in the Democratic nominations in June, he decided to run as an independent.
Which leaves Mamdani, the overwhelming favorite.
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
The frontrunner for New York mayor was born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent. His mother, Mira Nair, is a well-regarded Indian-American filmmaker and his father, Mahmood Mamdani, an Indian-born Ugandan academic.
The family moved from Uganda to South Africa briefly when Zohran was five before settling in New York two years later. He has described his upbringing as "privileged" but recognized his was not a typical New York experience.
His political rise has been rapid. Elected to the New York Assembly in 2020, when he announced his mayoral campaign in October 2024 he was seen as an unknown who would get nowhere near the nomination. In the end, his victory over Cuomo was convincing, with 56.4% of the vote.
On a more personal note, Mamdani is a hip-hop fan and has performed and produced music in the genre. He's also a Muslim and a fan of several sports teams, including the New York Mets (baseball), New York Giants (American football) and the English soccer team, Arsenal.
What are Mamdani's policies and principles?
Partly as a result of his pre-politics work in assisting low-income people avoid evictions, housing affordability has been a cornerstone of his campaign. In a metropolis that a 2025 Deutsche Bank report found had the most expensive inner city rents in the world — an average three-bedroom apartment costs $8,500 (€7,345) a month — his calls to freeze rents on rent-stabilized units, increase affordable housing and regulate private landlords more stringently have struck a chord with New Yorkers.
Mamdani's membership of the Democratic Socialists of America is a further indicator of his beliefs. He has also advocated imposing a flat 2% tax on those in the city who earn more than $1 million a year, increasing corporation tax, introducing free buses, instituting a $30 minimum wage (up from $16.50) and expanding public child care offerings.
"You have to speak in a language everyone can understand and see themselves in, and you also have to speak to the struggles that people are living through and the ones that dominate their day-to-day lives," Mamdani told British publication the New Statesman in September. "Oftentimes [Democrats have] spoken about democracy, but if you cannot afford to live in the city you call a home, you don't have all that time to be concerned about values."
What do his critics say about Mamdani?
Given his principles and policies are far to the left of the national norm, there are plenty who take issue with Mamdani. Some think his brand of socialism, even in a city with a much more liberal bent than most in the US, has made him a polarizing figure.
"The fears are generated by the same concerns that people have about President Trump," said former New York governor David Paterson recently. "He targets different audiences and speaks about whole [groups of] people in a negative way. Zohran Mamdani has done the same thing. But he's speaking about people who are regular Democrats or regular Republicans."
Mamdani's long-term support for Palestinian rights has also been perceived by some as a problem in a city with the highest Jewish population outside Israel. "To be clear, unequivocal, and on the record: I believe Zohran Mamdani poses a danger to the New York Jewish community," Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of the conservative Park Avenue Synagogue said in a sermon earlier this month. However this is not a sentiment universally shared among New York's Jewish population and many have said they approve of Mamdani.
The business community has also expressed misgivings. High-profile investor Bill Ackman said on X that Mamdani's "anti-business policies including higher corporate taxes will kill NYC jobs and cause companies to flee."
Why is the role of New York mayor important?
With a population of nearly 8.5 million and nearly 65 million visitors each year, New York is a major global cultural and financial hub, with significant challenges around housing, transport and public finances. The mayoral gig comes with a budget of $116 billion and has a wide remit — from schools to the police.
The size of the city, and its global profile, means the job is conducted on a national and international stage, with several previous New York mayors having gone on to run, albeit unsuccessfully, for US president.
Should Mamdani win, his vocal brawling with Trump, a New Yorker himself, is also likely to become an ongoing talking point. Trump has referred to Mamdani as a "Communist lunatic" and a "disaster waiting to happen." The mayoral candidate, for his part, has said he will try to work with President Trump for the sake of the city but will not be cowed either.
"If you want to speak about how you can make life more difficult for New Yorkers, by coming after so many in this city and the fabric of the city itself, then I'll be there to fight you," he said to Trump via an interview with political satirists, The Good Liars.
With their political views seemingly diametrically opposed, relations between the president and the likely new mayor of New York may well become another battleground in US politics.
