Zohran Mamdani Sweeps to Victory To Become 1st New York City Muslim Mayor -

Mamdani will be the first Muslim mayor of New York and its youngest in over a century – but not its first immigrant mayor, nor its first mayor to champion socialist ideals.

New Yorkers celebrated Mamdani‘s monumental election at official and unofficial parties spread across the five boroughs.

At a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) party in Brooklyn, supporters erupted shortly after the race was called at 9.30pm. The DJ immediately started playing I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas. Tonight was a good, good night for those in the room, who erupted in tears, hugs and twerking.

“This just shows that our politics are not radical, that New Yorkers actually think what we believe is sensible, and maybe the rest of the country is ready for sensible, commonsense, Democratic socialism,” said 40-year-old health department worker Will, a DSA member for years.

With the dancefloor in full swing, Ellie, a 28-year-old bartender from Bed-Stuy, said she felt “absolutely ecstatic”.

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This is the first time we’ve had hope in so long.

These are the people who fought for Mamdani when he was polling at 1%, who celebrated his socialist principles when others said they disqualified him.

Meanwhile hundreds queued up on the sidewalk outside another DSA watch party, cheering and holding signs, and, in the case of one woman, a cardboard cutout of Mamdani.

The crowd was a genuine mix: Black, white, brown, young folks and old folks, party gays, butch lesbians, bridge-and-tunnel kids who couldn’t even vote in the election but felt its reverberations nonetheless.

Amber Pease, 25, lives in Nassau county in Long Island. Her inability to cast a vote didn’t stop her from traveling in to volunteer for Zohran’s campaign. She wants to get a job and move into the city soon.

“I’ve been waiting to see a good progressive candidate, and to have one so close to home, it gives me a lot of hope.”

Background of Mamdani

Zohran Kwame Mamdani (born October 18, 1991) is an American politician who is the mayor-elect of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he has served as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district since 2021, representing the Queens neighborhood of Astoria.

Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda to academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair. He immigrated to Cape Town, South Africa when he was five years old and then to the United States when he was seven, settling in New York City.

Mamdani graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and received a bachelor’s degree with a major in Africana studies from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2014. After working as a housing counselor and musician, Mamdani entered local New York City politics as a campaign manager for Khader El-Yateem and Ross Barkan.

He was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, defeating five-term incumbent Aravella Simotas in the Democratic primary. He was reelected without opposition in 2022 and 2024.

In October 2024, he announced his candidacy for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election and won the Democratic primary in an upset victory over Andrew Cuomo, before again winning in the general election against Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

The 36 years old Democrat campaigned on an affordability-focused platform in support of fare-free city buses, public child care, city-owned grocery stores, LGBTQ rights, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized units, additional affordable housing units, comprehensive public safety reform, and a $30 minimum wage by 2030.

Mamdani also supports tax increases on corporations and those earning above $1 million annually. Mamdani is the first Indian American, first Muslim, second democratic socialist after David Dinkins, and first Millennial mayor-elect of New York City. He is expected to assume office on January 1, 2026.