Zohran Mamdani

Early career

2015–2019: Hip-hop and rap

Mamdani is a fan of hip-hop and has composed, performed, and produced rap music. Under the moniker Young Cardamom, he collaborated with his best friend, Ugandan rapper HAB (Abdul Bar Hussein), whose origins are in South Sudan, as Young Cardamom & HAB. Their first song, "Kanda [Chap Chap]", was about chapati, an Indian flatbread. They performed tracks from their 2016 EP Sidda Mukyaalo ("No going back to the village") at the Nyege Nyege festival. 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. In their music, they addressed social issues in Uganda, such as corruption and "black and brown relations", as well as colonialism. Young Cardamom & HAB were nominated for "Rookie of the Year" at the inaugural Ugandan (UG) Hip Hop Awards.

Mamdani curated and produced the soundtrack for his mother Mira Nair's 2016 film Queen of Katwe, for which he was nominated for a 2017 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards; he co-wrote the song "#1 Spice" with HAB for the film. Mamdani also appears as an extra in the film, and is credited as third assistant director. Nair subsequently offered him parts in the stage musical adaptation of her film Monsoon Wedding, after he took part in stage readings for the show, and her television adaptation of the Vikram Seth novel A Suitable Boy, but he declined.

In 2017, Mamdani released the song "Salaam" under the name Zohran Kwame. In the song, Mamdani expressed support for the Holy Land Five, five people connected to the Holy Land Foundation charity. 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, which pays tribute to Jaffrey and New York's South Asian culture.

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. 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. 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.

In 2017, Mamdani joined the New York City chapter of 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. Part of Mamdani's motivation for joining the DSA was its pro-Palestine stance, which aligned with his own prior activism. Mamdani served as the campaign manager for Ross Barkan's 2018 unsuccessful bid for the New York State Senate and was also a field organizer for fellow democratic socialist Tiffany Cabán's close-run but also unsuccessful 2019 campaign for Queens County district attorney.

Starting in 2018, 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.

New York State Assembly (2020–2025)

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. He was endorsed by the DSA, running on a platform of housing reform, police and prison reform, and public ownership of utilities. Mamdani's June 2020 primary victory over five-term Democratic incumbent Aravella Simotas took almost a month to call, and he won the general election with no Republican opposition in November. Mamdani was reelected without opposition in 2022 and 2024.

Mamdani was 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. 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".

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.

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. 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. Due to his mayoral campaign, Mamdani attended two thirds of the 2025 sessions in Albany, with perfect attendance until late April.

2025 New York City mayoral election

2025 campaign

On October 23, 2024, Mamdani announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City. His platform included support for free city buses and a rent freeze in rent-stabilized housing. Mamdani also wanted the city government to operate five grocery stores—one in each borough—to drive down grocery prices. His platform included support for universal child care and the construction of 200,000 new affordable housing units. He also supported public safety reform and a $30 minimum wage by 2030. His platform called for tax increases on corporations and on those earning above $1 million annually.

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. A poll taken shortly before the June 24, 2025, primary election showed that Mamdani had caught up to Cuomo. First-choice results on election night showed Mamdani had a large lead over Cuomo, who conceded the race that evening. 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. Mamdani and Michael Blake also cross-endorsed each other a few days later. On June 16, The New York Times editorial board advised voters not to rank Mamdani while criticizing Cuomo.

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. It was considered a major upset. Mamdani's campaign launch drew media attention for its use of Bollywood songs and cultural references, which aimed to engage younger and immigrant voters.

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.

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. These criticisms and attacks came from across the political spectrum, and sparked concern and debate over Islamophobia in mainstream American politics. The success of Mamdani's campaign was attributed in part to his use of social media to reach potential voters, especially younger voters.

In early November, President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding for New York City should Mamdani be elected mayor. Mamdani was elected mayor on November 4, 2025, becoming the city's youngest mayor since 1892, its first Asian American and Muslim mayor, and its first foreign-born mayor since Abraham Beame, who was born in the United Kingdom.

Mayor-elect and transition

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. 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. 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.

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. After the meeting, Trump praised Mamdani and said they "agree on a lot more than I would have thought", following months of mutual criticism.

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.

Mayor of New York City (2026–present)

Inauguration

Mamdani's mayoralty began on January 1, 2026. New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office in the abandoned City Hall subway station just after midnight. Mamdani took the oath on the Quran, making him the first mayor of the city to do so. He used two copies of the book, his grandfather's and Arturo Alfonso Schomburg's. A public inauguration was held in the afternoon, at which Mamdani was sworn in by Bernie Sanders. Speakers and performers at the inauguration included Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Javier Muñoz, Lucy Dacus, and Mandy Patinkin.

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. 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.

Administration

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. One of his first major challenges as mayor was managing the effects of a January 2026 winter storm, which killed 14 people in New York City.

In February 2026, Mamdani's administration secured a $5.2 million labor rights settlement against Uber Eats, HungryPanda, and Fantuan, paying workers against whom the companies had committed wage theft. Uber Eats also agreed to reinstate 10,000 workers who were wrongfully terminated between 2023 and 2024. Later that year, his administration reached a similar $131 million settlement with DoorDash, finding that they failed to pay their workers minimum wage. Per the settlement, DoorDash will pay $115 million to 260,000 workers and $16 million in fines.

On April 14, 2026, Mamdani announced La Marqueta marketplace in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood as the first identified site of his planned city-run grocery stores. He plans to spend roughly $30 million to build the store in the predominantly Latino neighborhood. Five stores are planned, one in each borough. Each will offer groceries at prices 30% below the market rate, as a subsidy from the city budget. The stores are expected to progressively open from 2027 through 2029.

On April 15, 2026, Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a pied-à-terre tax, taxing second homes of owners who live outside New York City for single-family homes valued above $5 million or condominiums above $1 million. The plan passed the New York State Assembly in May 2026.

In May 2026, Mamdani announced his housing plan "Block by Block", to build 200,000 new affordable housing units over the next decade, preserve 200,000 others, and expand the city's affordable housing programs. On June 25, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board approved Mamdani's proposal to freeze the rent of rent-stabilized apartments, which make up 40% of New York City's apartments, for two years. Ahead of the vote, board member Christina Smyth, who represents landlords as an attorney, resigned in protest over the proposal.

In July 2026, Mamdani said he would not accept a salary increase if the New York City Council decided to raise all citywide elected officials' salaries. Later that month, his administration introduced a rule banning junk fees, making New York City the first city in the United States to do so.

On September 8, 2026, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Mamdani launched a public portal containing about 170,000 pages of information on the attacks. The documents reveal that New York City leaders at the time knew that the air quality was unsafe in the fallout area, while telling the public otherwise.

On September 25, 2026, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations General Assembly. In his speech, he said: "To all those spreading lies about my country, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the antisemitic mayor of New York, I say this: shame on you." He also said: "Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me." Netanyahu denied that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Mamdani had previously said he would push for Netanyahu's arrest during his visit to New York. Mamdani called Netanyahu's remarks about him "baseless lies" meant to "sanitize his genocide of Palestinians."

Later in September, Mamdani released a report that outlined a strategy to fight antisemitism in New York City, in part by using millions of dollars already pledged to fight hate crimes. The report also promised to support programs celebrating Jewish traditions and expand Holocaust education programs in city schools. Some New York City elected officials, as well as some Jewish organizations, criticized the report for not defining antisemitism or discussing any link between it and anti-Zionism. While praising the strategy to increase security funding and expand some programs, several Jewish organizations, including the UJA-Federation of New York, said in a joint statement that the plan "fails to address a central issue that the Mayor himself has perpetuated: rhetoric that demonizes and delegitimizes Israel inevitably leads to the targeting of Jewish New Yorkers."

Gracie Mansion bombing attempt

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 Gracie Mansion, Mamdani's official residence as Mayor of New York City. Police investigated the attack as an "act of ISIS-inspired terrorism". Two men, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, were taken into custody, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York brought federal charges against them. Mamdani condemned the protest, calling it "appalling" and a display of anti-Muslim bigotry rooted in racism. He further added that the "right to peaceful protest is sacred" and "does not belong only to those we agree with", calling the bombing attempt "heinous".

Political positions

Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist and is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Described as a progressive and left-wing populist, he has advanced policies that have been characterized as center-left and left-wing. Mamdani has maintained that the "struggle for Palestinian liberation" has been at "the core of [his] politics" throughout his political life. His economic platform centers on equity and affordability—supporting debt relief for taxi medallion owners, stronger rent control, tenant protections, and a Social Housing Development Agency to build 200,000 affordable units. In New York City, he advocates raising the local minimum wage to $30 by 2030, implementing higher taxes on corporations and high-income earners to fund free tuition at CUNY and SUNY, universal childcare, city-owned grocery stores, and free public transit, while cutting taxes for outer-borough homeowners and reforming New York's property tax system. Mamdani has cited sewer socialism, an early-20th-century democratic socialist movement centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as an inspiration for improving public infrastructure in New York City.

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. 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. He had voiced support for defunding the NYPD and accused the department of racism, stances 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.

Mamdani has condemned dictatorships in Venezuela and Cuba while criticizing US sanctions on those countries. After the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Mamdani called the action "a violation of federal and international law". In January 2026, Mamdani criticized the Iranian regime's violence against anti-government protesters. He has denounced Indian prime minister Narendra Modi as a "war criminal" and remains a critic of Israel and the Gaza genocide, describing its policies as apartheid and supporting the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the country. He co-sponsored the "Not on our dime!" bill to stop New York charities from funding Israeli settler violence. After the October 7 attacks, Mamdani mourned all victims, condemned Hamas's attacks as war crimes, and called for both sides to "lay down their arms" while advocating a permanent ceasefire, the end of Israeli occupation, and the end of ethnocratic policy in favor of "equal rights for all". He said he would arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian president Vladimir Putin if they visited New York City to honor the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants. In a July 21 statement, Mamdani said the municipality of New York City does not have independent legal authority to execute the ICC's arrest warrant but that the US federal government does, calling on the federal government to execute the arrest.

Mamdani connects environmental justice to social equity. He opposed expansion of the gas-fired Astoria Energy power plant, 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. His platform includes universal pre-K, baby baskets for new families, defending Hasidic yeshivas' autonomy, 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.

After the January 2026 deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were both civilians killed by federal border patrol agents during Operation Metro Surge, Mamdani took a strong stance against ICE. He called to abolish ICE, described Good's and Pretti's killings as murders, and blamed Donald Trump's "year of cruelty" for Good's death. In February 2026, Mamdani signed an executive order requiring ICE agents to get judicial warrants in New York City.

Personal life

Mamdani is a dual citizen of Uganda and the United States (naturalized in 2018). He follows the Twelver branch of Shia Islam. In 2021, Mamdani met animator and illustrator Rama Duwaji through Hinge, an online dating application. They became engaged in October 2024, held a private nikah ceremony two months later in Dubai, and were married in February 2025 in a civil ceremony at New York City Hall; they also had a ceremony in Uganda in July 2025. The couple resided in Mamdani's legislative district of Astoria, Queens, near Steinway Street, until they moved into Gracie Mansion.

Besides English, Mamdani can speak at least five other languages with varying degrees of proficiency: Hindi, Swahili, Luganda, Spanish, and Arabic. He is a fan of the English football team Arsenal, the New York Knicks of the NBA, whose games he has attended as part of past campaigns, the New York Giants of the NFL, and the New York Mets of MLB. He also follows cricket and professional wrestling. He is a shareholder of the Spanish soccer team Real Oviedo, having been one of 20,000 people to purchase shares in the club in 2012 as part of a fundraising drive to stave off bankruptcy. His favorite anime series is Digimon.

In popular culture

Mamdani was Google's top "People" trending search for 2025. His Wikipedia article was among the 10 most-read in 2025.

In the 51st season of Saturday Night Live, Ramy Youssef portrayed Mamdani in a sketch based on the second debate of the 2025 New York City mayoral election. Youssef reprised his role in 2026.