Khaberni - Democratic candidate Zahran Mamdani, a fierce opponent of Donald Trump, was elected Mayor of New York City on Tuesday according to preliminary results reported by "NBC", "CNN", and "CBS".
34-year-old Mamdani leads over former state governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, according to preliminary results from the New York City Board of Elections.
Mamdani will become the first Muslim mayor of the largest city in the United States on January 1st.
President Trump threatened to stop federal funding to New York City if Mamdani won the mayoral election.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump labeled Mamdani as a "communist", saying he would leave the city with "zero chance of success or even survival".
In Virginia, moderate Democrat Abigail Spanberger easily won the governorship.
The young Democratic candidate Zahran Mamdani told his supporters, "Today we made history... We won because the people of New York defended a city they can afford to live in. A city where they can do more than just struggle to meet their needs."
To make the cost of living in New York affordable to the widest possible base of city residents, Mamdani (34 years old), who lives in an apartment with a monthly rent no more than $2,300, promises to freeze rent increases for a million regulated apartments in the city, and to expand public services such as free transportation and comprehensive free childcare.
Mamdani, who does not own a car and uses public transportation, promised his voters to create municipal stores to sell goods at wholesale prices, to raise the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030, and to fund these proposals, he proposes imposing additional taxes on corporations and high-income earners who make over a million dollars annually.
Communist or Socialist?
Mamdani's rhetoric raises some concerns among business people regarding the implementation of his political program, especially in terms of financing. President Trump has previously said that Mamdani's campaign poses a serious threat to New York, expressing his rejection of his election attempt and threatened to withhold federal funding if he wins.
As the countdown to choosing a new mayor for the city begins, President Trump has somewhat changed his tone towards Mamdani, saying "It looks like he will win... This is a revolution. This is also a revolution against poor candidates," and added that he is ready to communicate with him if he finally wins by voting.
Traditional Politicians and Billionaires
When Mamdani decided in October 2024 to enter the race for the New York City Mayoralty, it was a surprise for the Democratic party elite which had seen a number of its traditional faces manage the city including Bill de Blasio (2014-2021) and Michael Bloomberg (2002-2013).
Mamdani's nomination capped several years of representing the Queens area in the New York Legislature and he did not hesitate to challenge traditional names in the Democratic party, gradually turning his election campaign into a mobilization of a broad base of voters who began to tire of the dominant elite involved in many corruption cases.
Just a few days ago, Mamdani shared with his social media followers a video in which he addresses Cuomo "Habibi (in Arabic), reveal your clients," commenting on a news report that Cuomo earned $4 million in 2024 through a consulting firm, without clarifying which clients benefited from his services.
A Unique Phenomenon
Since his candidacy for this position, Mamdani has become a unique political phenomenon, according to academic Sahar Khamis, a media professor at the University of Maryland, and he has become rich material for various American media outlets expecting Mamdani to become the first Muslim mayor of New York.
Mamdani has a noticeable presence in traditional media, especially on television stations where he stands out with his attractive, spontaneous presence, his quick wit, constant smile, clarity of political ideas, and his high sense of humor.
Pluralistic Incubator
Mamdani achieved this political rise imbued with the values he grew up with in a pluricultural environment haunted by questions of identity and belonging against the background of his father's Indian and Ugandan roots, historian Mahmoud Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University (New York) and his mother the famous film director Mira Nair.
Mamdani and his family came to New York when he was seven years old after spending his early childhood in his birthplace Uganda, influenced by his father's political and intellectual experiences and by his mother's artistic works, and the family home was open to prominent thinkers and artists including the late Palestinian thinker Edward Said.
In that atmosphere, Mamdani's interest in social and economic issues affecting marginalized groups began, and he engaged in fieldwork, and while studying at Bowdoin College in Maine, he helped establish a branch of "Students for Justice in Palestine" and participated in a campaign to convince the college to join an academic boycott of Israel as an effective tool for peaceful pressure for respect of international law.
After graduating from college, Mamdani worked as a teacher and rapper, and in 2016 he assisted his mother in composing music for her film "Queen of Katwe". His first full-time job was advising homeowners struggling to meet mortgage payments within a small non-profit organization in the Queens area.
During his work in that organization, his awareness of the residents' needs crystallized and gradually transformed into a political message that resonantly found an audience among the Asian-origin residents of the Queens area and among the rest of New York's population, which was experiencing the worst housing crisis in decades.
Addressing Communities
On Saturday (1 November), Mamdani shared a video on Facebook with his followers, presenting in a Levantine accent the major lines of his election program: "Hello! My name is Zahran Mamdani and I am running to be the new mayor of New York City. I know what you're thinking. I look like your son-in-law from Sham. But my Arabic needs some work".
He added, "Still, today I'm asking for your support on November 4th. Living in New York has become expensive for everyone.. and it's hard to live here, and to raise children. As mayor, I will freeze the rents for more than two million people, make buses fast and free and ensure comprehensive childcare for all families.. I am of you and for you".
In that video clip is the phrase "I look like your son-in-law from Sham" which hints at his marriage earlier this year to Syrian-American artist Rama Dawaagy, who was born in the United States to Syrian parents and studied at Virginia Commonwealth University and became a teacher of visual arts in New York.
In another video, Mamdani speaks Spanish as he tours the streets of the Queens area he has represented for five years in the New York Legislature, delivering the same message to Spanish speakers in the city.
In one of the most impactful moments, Mamdani appeared in a public speech about a week ago outside a mosque in the Bronx area surrounded by members of the Muslim community and spoke profoundly about the insults faced by Muslims in the city for a long time.
Mamdani recounted how when he first entered the world of politics, his uncle gently suggested that he "keep his faith to himself," but he vowed to break that rule and to openly adhere to his Islamic identity in the face of prevailing Islamophobic and racist discourse in the country.
These scenes embody striking features of Mamdani's campaign as he addresses potential voters from any possible platform in a coordinated and intensive campaign that heavily relies on social media platforms and direct engagement with the public in public spaces, public transportation, restaurants, parks, and other spaces.
