Zohran Mamdani has buzz and some momentum in New York City's mayoral race. But can a 33-year-old democratic socialist — or anyone else — beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary?
Mamdani's focus on lowering the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive cities has helped him climb from relative obscurity to become one of the race's leading figures.
He was born in Kampala, Uganda, before he and his family moved to New York City when he was 7. He became naturalized as an American citizen a few years after graduating from college.
His mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning filmmaker. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University.
If he wins, he would be New York's first Muslim and Indian American mayor.
Big promises
Zohran Mamdani was elected to the state Assembly in 2020, representing a district in Queens. His most-known legislative accomplishment was pushing through a pilot program that made a handful of city buses free for a year.
His mayoral campaign has been full of big promises — free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for people living in rent-regulated apartments, new affordable housing and raising taxes on the wealthy — all packaged in well-produced social media videos.
Critics say his hopeful visions get blurry when it comes to detail, and have also questioned the cost and feasibility of his proposals, many of which would need support from the state Legislature and governor.
Opponents have taken aim at Mamdani's relative inexperience, saying the state Assembly member has a good online presence but actually “produces nothing”. Mamdani, in a recent social media video, noted that "a third of New Yorkers still haven’t heard of us," though he framed that as a positive, indicating he still has room to grow.
Netanyahu’s arrest
Mamdani has also vowed to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he came to the city.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last year, saying he had committed war crimes by using starvation as a weapon during Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
To win, Mamdani will need to expand his support beyond the city's young, progressive crowd to the more moderate voters who have been a critical factor in past elections.
In an interview, Mamdani said if you speak to the people directly about issues they care about, such as the sky-high cost of living, you can successfully build a coalition, regardless of "what we have been told is the politics that can succeed in this city and the ways in which we have been told how to run a campaign and who we actually have to speak to.”
