Zohran Kwame Mamdani: New York City's Mayor-Elect
Zohran Kwame Mamdani, born in Uganda in 1991 to academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair, is the mayor-elect of New York City, slated to take office on January 1, 2026. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he has served as a New York State Assembly member for Astoria, Queens, since 2021. Mamdani achieved an upset victory in the June 2025 Democratic primary against former Governor Andrew Cuomo, securing the mayoralty in the November 4, 2025, general election with 50.4% of the vote.
His campaign centered on an affordability-focused platform, advocating for fare-free city buses, universal public child care, a rent freeze on stabilized units, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030, financed by tax increases on corporations and high earners. Mamdani's election is historically significant, as he will be the first Indian-American, Ugandan-American, Muslim, and millennial mayor-elect of New York City. He is also the second democratic socialist and the seventh immigrant mayor-elect since 1834.