The family moved to the United States and settled in New York City when Mamdani was seven,[27] and he was raised in Morningside Heights.[28] He has described his upbringing as "privileged", saying, "I never had to want for something, and yet I knew that was not in any way the reality for most New Yorkers."[29] As a child, he was often present on his mother's film sets, where he was loved by members of the film crews, who variously referred to him as "Z", "Zoru", "Fadoose", and "Nonstop Mamdani".[24]
Mamdani attended the Bank Street School for Children on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he successfully ran as the independent candidate in a middle school mock election, adopting a platform of "equal rights, anti-war policies that proposed spending money on education rather than the military".[30] In 2003, he returned to Kampala for a year and attended school during his father's sabbatical there;[17] his paternal grandparents and aunt still lived there and helped take care of him while his father was working on the book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim.[31]
Mamdani at the 2016 Johannesburg premiere of Queen of Katwe
Mamdani is a fan of hip-hop and has composed, performed, and produced rap music.[40] Under the moniker Young Cardamom, he collaborated with his best friend, Ugandan rapper HAB (Abdul Bar Hussein), whose origins are from South Sudan,[41][42] as Young Cardamom & HAB. Their first song, "Kanda [Chap Chap]", was about chapati, an Indian flatbread.[43] They performed tracks from their 2016 EPSidda Mukyaalo ("No going back to the village") at the Nyege Nyege festival.[44][45] The pair rapped in languages including Nubi, Luganda, Swahili, and English, partly to create a unique Ugandan style of rap rather than imitating American rap, and partly to convey that Ugandan residents with roots in other countries are all Ugandan. The chapati was chosen as a symbol because it originates in the Indian subcontinent but has become a Ugandan staple.[42] In their music, they addressed social issues in Uganda, such as corruption and "black and brown relations", as well as colonialism.[46] Young Cardamom & HAB were nominated for "Rookie of the Year" at the inaugural Ugandan (UG) Hip Hop Awards.[47][48]
In 2017, Mamdani released the song "Salaam" under the name Zohran Kwame.[56] In the song, Mamdani praised the Holy Land 5, five people arrested and connected to the Holy Land Foundation.[57][58] In April 2019, under the moniker Mr. Cardamom, he released the single "Nani", an homage to his grandmother. Actress and food writer Madhur Jaffrey portrays Mamdani's grandmother in the video,[59][60][61][62] which pays tribute to Jaffrey and New York's South Asian culture.[59]
2015–2019: Political involvement
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.[14] Mamdani was inspired to join Najmi's campaign after learning that he was supported by Heems, a New York rapper of Indian descent and co-founder of alternative hip-hop group Das Racist.[40][63] Specifically, Mamdani attributes his involvement in local politics to a 2015 The Village Voice article about Najmi and Heems, whom he described as one of his favorite rappers.[64][65]
Starting in 2018,[69] Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention and housing counselor. There, he assisted lower-income immigrant homeowners in Queens with eviction notices and efforts to prevent them from being evicted from their homes. He said the experience motivated him to run for office to address the housing and affordability crisis.[70]
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.[71][72] He was endorsed by the DSA,[73] running on a platform of housing reform, police and prison reform, and public ownership of utilities.[71] Mamdani's June 2020 primary victory over five-term Democratic incumbent Aravella Simotas took almost a month to call,[74] and he won the general election with no Republican opposition in November.[75] Mamdani was reelected without opposition in 2022 and 2024.[76][77]
Mamdani was a member of the DSA's nine-member[d]"State Socialists in Office" bloc in New York and a member of the Muslim Democratic Club of New York.[14][78][79] He was the keynote speaker at the 2023 DSA convention, saying, "We are special as DSA electeds not because of ourselves; we are special because of our organization".[80][81][82]
By January 2025, Mamdani was a member of nine Assembly committees: the Committee on Aging; the Committee on Cities; the Committee on Election Law; the Committee on Energy; the Committee on Real Property Taxation; the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus; the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force; the Asian Pacific American Task Force; and the Task Force on New Americans.[83]
By May 2025, Mamdani had been the primary sponsor of 20 bills in the Assembly—three of which became law—and the co-sponsor of 238 bills.[84] As a member of the Assembly, he helped launch a successful fare-free bus pilot program and participated in a hunger strike alongside taxi drivers.[85][86]
On October 23, 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City.[87] His platform included support for free city buses and a rent freeze in rent-stabilized housing.[88][89] Mamdani also wants the city government to operate five grocery stores—one in each borough—to drive down grocery prices.[90] His platform included support for universal child care and the construction of 200,000 new affordable housing units.[91] He also supports public safety reform and a $30 minimum wage by 2030.[92] His platform called for tax increases on corporations and on those earning above $1million annually.[93]
For most of the primary campaign, Mamdani trailed former New York governor Andrew Cuomo in polling. He and Cuomo raised similar amounts of money, but his donor base was considerably larger than Cuomo's.[94] A poll taken shortly before the June 24, 2025, primary election showed that Mamdani had caught up to Cuomo.[95]First-choice results on election night showed Mamdani had a large lead over Cuomo,[96][97] who conceded the race that evening.[98] His polling margin was increased by ranked choice voting, particularly because he and third-favored candidate Brad Lander cross-endorsed each other by asking their voters to rank the other candidate second.[99][100][101][102] Mamdani and Michael Blake also cross-endorsed each other a few days later.[103] On June 16, The New York Times editorial board advised voters not to rank Mamdani while criticizing Cuomo.[104]
On July 1, after the New York City Board of Elections released its ranked-choice ballot tabulation, the Associated Press announced Mamdani had won the primary.[105] It was considered a major upset.[106] A July 2025 poll indicated a shift in Jewish American political attitudes, with 43% of Jewish New Yorkers and 67% of Jewish voters under 44 planning to support Mamdani—levels of support suggesting waning attachment to traditional pro-Israel politics. However, many Jewish leaders and voters remained critical of him.[107] Mamdani's campaign launch drew media attention for its use of Bollywood songs and cultural references, which aimed to engage younger and immigrant voters.[108][109]
Mamdani with Colombian President Gustavo Petro in New York City, September 26, 2025
During the primary, Mamdani's campaign was supported by the New Yorkers for Lower Costs super PAC, which spent approximately $1.3 million supporting him and opposing Cuomo before the primary and raised an additional $1 million afterward. The super PAC received $100,000 in contributions from the Unity and Justice Fund in May and June 2025. Cuomo accused Mamdani of accepting "dirty money", saying the Unity and Justice Fund was tied to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.[110]
After Mamdani won the primary, criticisms of and attacks against him used racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic tropes, particularly references to the 9/11 attacks and terrorism.[111][112] These criticisms and attacks came from across the political spectrum, and sparked concern and debate over Islamophobia in mainstream American politics.[113][114][115][116] The success of Mamdani's campaign was attributed in part to his use of social media to reach potential voters, especially younger voters.[117][118]
In early November, President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding for New York City should Mamdani be elected mayor.[119] Mamdani was elected mayor on November 4, 2025.[120][121][122] He is the city's youngest mayor since 1892,[123] as well as the city's first Asian American and Muslim mayor.[124][125] He is also the first foreign-born mayor since Abraham Beame, who was born in the United Kingdom.[126][127]
On November 5, 2025, the day after the election, Mamdani announced the first members of his mayoral transition team, with Elana Leopold as executive director, and co-chairs Maria Torres-Springer, the former first deputy mayor; Lina Khan, the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission; and nonprofit executives Melanie Hartzog and Grace Bonilla.[128] On November 10, he announced his selection of former first deputy mayor Dean Fuleihan as his first deputy, and his former Assembly chief of staff and campaign manager Elle Bisgaard-Church as his Chief of Staff.[129] He faced criticism for selecting Catherine Almonte Da Costa as director of appointments after past antisemitic comments of hers resurfaced; Da Costa resigned one day after her appointment.[130][131]
Mamdani met with President Trump at the White House on November 21. A spokesperson said the discussion would focus on public safety, economic security, and affordability.[132][133] After the meeting, Trump praised Mamdani and said they "agree on a lot more than I would have thought", following months of mutual criticism.[134][135]
Mamdani's mayoralty was expected to be the city's 111th, but a December 2025 review of city archives established that the enumeration of New York City mayors had omitted Matthias Nicoll's second mayoralty, and that Mamdani would therefore be the city's 112th mayor.[136][137]
Mamdani's first act as mayor, immediately after taking the oath of office, was to appoint transportation consultant, educator, and former NYC Department of Transportation director of capital planning and project management Mike Flynn as his Department of Transportation commissioner.[143] His first executive order was to revoke all executive orders his predecessor Eric Adams made after he was indicted on bribery charges on September 25, 2024.[144][145][146][147]
One week after his inauguration, Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a plan to expand free and low-cost childcare in New York City, with the aim to eventually provide universal free childcare.[148] One of Mamdani's first major challenges as mayor was managing the effects of a January 2026 winter storm, which killed 14 people in New York City.[149][150][151]
On March 7, 2026, a homemade explosive device was thrown into the crowd of an anti-Islam protest organized by far-right activist and January 6 United States Capitol attack rioter Jake Lang outside Mamdani's official residence at Gracie Mansion.[152] Police investigated the attack as an "act of ISIS-inspired terrorism". Two men were taken into custody.[153] Two additional devices were identified at the scene—one dropped by a suspect on the run and one in a parked vehicle a few streets south of the residence.[154] The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York brought federal charges against the two men. Mamdani said the "right to peaceful protest is sacred. It does not belong only to those we agree with."[155]
Mamdani supported Proposal 1—a successful 2024 ballot measure that banned discrimination based on ethnicity, gender identity, disability, and reproductive rights—and backs single-payer healthcare through the New York Health Act.[172][173][174][175] He argues that "dignified work, economic stability, and well-resourced neighborhoods" prevent harm better than policing, proposing a civilian Department of Community Safety to handle mental health crises and community outreach.[176] He has voiced support for defunding the NYPD and accused the department of racism, for which he later apologized. As a mayoral candidate, he instead emphasized building a cooperative relationship with the department on violent crime prevention while reducing the involvement of police in other matters.[177][178][179]
Mamdani connects environmental justice to social equity.[200] He opposed expansion of the gas-fired Astoria Energy power plant,[201][202] supports the All-Electric Buildings Act and congestion pricing, and proposed a "Green Schools for a Healthier New York City" plan to retrofit schools with solar panels, create green schoolyards, and establish resilience hubs.[203][204][205] His platform includes universal pre-K, baby baskets for new families, defending Hasidic yeshivas' autonomy,[206] expanding sanctuary protections for immigrants, making New York City an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city with an Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, and eliminating bus fares through expanded MTA funding and free transit initiatives.[f]
After the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were both killed by federal border patrol agents in January 2026, Mamdani took a strong stance against ICE. He called for the organization's abolition, described Good's and Pretti's killings as murders, and blamed Donald Trump's "year of cruelty" for Good's death.[212] In February 2026, Mamdani signed an executive order requiring ICE agents to get judicial warrants in New York City.[213]
Personal life
Mamdani and Rama Duwaji at Mamdani's mayoral inauguration
↑Elected on both Democratic and WFP ballot lines in New York via electoral fusion.
↑The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are not a registered political party. Instead, they are a political organization for those with democratic socialist ideologies. Mamdani is a member of and is endorsed by the New York City DSA chapter.
↑Nair, Suresh (November 6, 2001). "Mirage!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on June 25, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. My last name is actually Nayyar, but my grandfather used to spell it as Nair and we just continued the tradition.
12Nair, Mira (December 2, 2002). "Whirlwind". The New Yorker (Interview). Interviewed by Lahr, John. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Published in the print edition of the December 9, 2002, issue.
↑Mamdani, Mahmood (2004). "Acknowledgements". Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror. Three Leaves Press. pp.xiv. ISBN9782869781344.
↑"Meet New York's new mayor who once rapped about chapati". Onmanorama. November 5, 2025. Archived from the original on November 17, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025. Performing under the stage name Young Cardamom, Mamdani rapped about food, identity, and belonging, often using Indian staples as cultural shorthand.
↑Bernstein, Jonathan (July 1, 2025). "This Indie-Rap Hero Inspired Zohran Mamdani to Enter Politics". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025. "I actually got involved in local politics because I picked up a copy of the Village Voice in 2015 where I saw that Heems, who was one of my favorite rappers, was endorsing his childhood friend," Mamdani told the radio station
↑Eisele, Ines (November 3, 2025). "Fact check: Mamdani, a communist and pro-prostitution?! – DW – 11/04/2025". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on November 17, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025. Political scientists and experts agree that the 'communist' label is inaccurate. Mamdani does not advocate for state control of all industries or the abolition of private property — core tenets of communism... Grzymala-Busse also explained why the term 'communist' is often used as a political weapon in the United States: 'Communism' is wielded as a weapon because during the Cold War, the Soviet Union was the enemy of the United States, and a whole rhetoric of good Americans vs. godless communists dominated. The Red Scare, the McCarthy hounding, the FBI investigations were all in the name of extirpating the enemy ideology. It's not surprising that it telegraphs 'bad' in the eyes of many people and is an easy way to slander anyone who might advocate for redistributive policies.'... Mamdani is firmly in the center-left tradition, politically similar to the moderate factions of the SPD.
↑Kozul-Wright, Alex (November 5, 2025). "Zohran Mamdani wins: Who are the Democratic Socialists of America?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved November 6, 2025. Zohran Mamdani, 34, has been elected the 111th mayor of New York City. The left-wing state assemblyman has pledged to reshape the global financial capital by making the city more affordable for its working-class residents and pushing back against the policies of President Donald Trump. In the mayoral election, Democrat Mamdani stood as the candidate for both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party. He has also been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America since 2017 and describes himself as a democratic socialist.
↑New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani | The View (Video). October 1, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025– via Facebook. I condemn Hamas, of course, I have called Oct. 7 what it was, which was a horrific war crime and, of course, my belief in a universality in international law is also the same set of beliefs that led me to describe what's happening in Gaza as a genocide.
↑Dan Morrison and Ben Adler (January 2, 2026). "Love him or hate him, why Americans are obsessed with Zohran Mamdani". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 21, 2026. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is a New York phenomenon, but his democratic socialist message has an audience far beyond the city's five boroughs.
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