How did Mamdani become the youngest NYC mayor in over a century?
New York state assembly member Zohran Mamdani is a 34 year old Muslim Democratic Socialist who, on Nov. 6, won the New York City mayoral race against Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Prior to running for mayor, Mamdani served in the New York state assembly for five years. His opponent, Andrew Cuomo, has had more political experience including being both the 64th attorney general of New York in 2002 and governor of New York from 2010 to 2021. Their differences in experience has led news sources such as “The Washington Post” and “The Irish Examiner” to label Mamdani as the “underdog” in the mayoral race.
Sources such as “POLITICO” have described Mamdani’s campaign as “polarizing” within both the Democratic and Republican parties. Democratic leaders such as Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand were hesitant to endorse him, along with Republican President Donald Trump saying he may withhold federal funds from the city if Mamdani becomes mayor. Henry Oesterle ‘27 said, “I think that the threats made against Mamdani throughout his campaign were pretty ridiculous. I also think that a lot of the comments and threats came out of fear, because Mamdani has shown a willingness to fight corporations and the ultra-wealthy. What upset me more than the comments by president Trump was actually the unwillingness of democratic leaders such as Chuck Schumer to endorse Mamdani after his victory in the democratic primary. The fact that many prominent Democrats refused to support Mamdani despite the fact that his main opponent, Andrew Cuomo, was in 2021 accused of sexual harassment by 11 different women is kind of disgusting to me.”
When asked why Mamdani’s campaign worked, Ethan Raney ‘27 said, “Zohran Mamdani was able to successfully mix compelling and progressive policies with down to earth marketing pandering towards the younger generation of voters. He’s a refreshing new voice in the democratic party and was able to draw in so many voters because he’s not just an establishment liberal but a real leftist who spoke to working class New Yorkers.”
Sources such as NBC News contribute the new mayor of NYC’s unique marketing to being one of the factors that allowed him to win. His presence on social media such as TikTok and Instagram allowed him to secure 78% of Gen-Z voters according to AP News poll data. His main policies he ran on were affordable housing, universal childcare, free buses, freezing rent and city-run grocery stores. These policies have proven to be one of the points of criticism by Mamdani’s political opponents, including President Trump, who call Mamdani a “communist” for his ideas. Oesterle said, “I agree with his ideas such as free buses and city grocery stores and I think that if those policies prove to be successful in New York they can be implemented nation wide. I think that Mamdani will improve the lives of average New Yorkers and make the city better by boosting social welfare programs and making housing more affordable.”
