NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — In line with polls, Zohran Mamdani is Andrew Cuomo’s closest competitor within the New York mayoral main.
He is 33 and has been within the New York State Meeting since 2021.
He has a giant political platform, and if elected, he could be the primary Muslim mayor of New York.
Mamdani, also called Mr. Cardamom, even recorded a rap music.
However now he is on a special microphone, this time on the political stage to run for the mayor of New York Metropolis.
“It took us months to knock 150,000 doorways; we simply knocked that quantity within the final 7 days,” Mamdani stated.
Will that get the 33-year-old Democratic socialist throughout the first end line?
Mamdani says completely, with the assistance of some progressive associates.
“To these New Yorkers who’ve by no means heard of me, they know that if they need a combat, they take heed to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she’s telling them that we’ll be that fighter,” Mamdani stated.
Mamdani was born in 1991 in Uganda, the place his mother and father met.
On the time, his mom, then a filmmaker engaged on the film Mississippi Masala, remembered studying a e book based mostly on the identical topic.
“When she went to Uganda for analysis, she met him as a result of she knew he was that writer, and so they fell in love,” Mamdani stated.
His father is a Columbia College professor.
The household moved to South Africa and ultimately settled in New York Metropolis, particularly Morningside Heights, when Mamdani was 7.
He attended Financial institution Avenue Bronx Science and some years after graduating from Bowdoin School in Maine, he grew to become an American citizen.
In November of 2020, he was elected to the New York State Meeting, representing Queens’ thirty sixth district, a seat he nonetheless holds.
His political resume is brief, but his mayoral marketing campaign checklist of must-dos is lengthy.
It contains elder care, larger minimal wage, free metropolis buses and a lease freeze for stabilized flats.
“The place are we discovering all of this cash for all of those applications?” Mamdani was requested.
“We are going to increase the company tax price in New York State to match that of New Jersey to deliver 7.25 % to 11.5 %, which raises $5 billion,” Mamdani stated.
In the event you add a flat 2 % tax for these making $1 million yearly, he believes it’s going to generate over $9 billion and, as he places it, “Trump-proof our metropolis.”
Whereas in School, Mamdani co-founded “College students For Justice in Palestine” and has known as Israel’s actions in the course of the conflict genocide.
“I consider within the notion of freedom and justice and security for all individuals, be it Israeli or Palestinian. Anti-Semitism is an actual subject that deserves to be tackled not simply talked about,” Mamdani stated.
If elected, Mamdani could be the town’s first Muslim, Indian American Mayor.
NYC PRIMARY ELECTION RESOURCES
Up Close Election Special: Closer look at the candidates for New York City mayor
UpClose with Invoice Ritter – 06/15/25
How to register to vote in NY, NJ, and CT
How to vote early in the NYC mayoral primary
Ranked-choice voting explained: What to know for NYC mayoral election
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