Zohran Mamdani: New York City's first Muslim mayor?

He became a naturalised American citizen in 2018 and worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counsellor. He says that job, which saw him help low-income homeowners across Queens fight off eviction and stay in their homes, inspired him to run for office.

Mamdani was elected to the State Assembly in 2020, representing a district in Queens, becoming the first South Asian man to serve in the NYS Assembly, as well as the first Ugandan and third Muslim to ever be a member of the body.

A political newcomer

He entered the campaign as a virtual unknown, stating that he had just 1% name recognition at the time. However, his shrewd campaigning, combined with the controversy surrounding Cuomo, saw him win comfortably. The former governor was attempting to make a comeback from a sexual harassment scandal that saw him resign in 2021, which came after a report from the state attorney general concluded that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women.

Cuomo has said he did not intentionally mistreat the women but had contravened what was considered appropriate workplace conduct. Despite the controversy, the 67-year-old was considered the favourite during the mayoral race due to his long experience and the fact that he won the backing of some of the city's biggest unions.

Trip Yang, a political strategist, told the BBC the 33-year-old's victory against Mr Cuomo was the "biggest upset in modern NYC history".

"A massive win for Zohran Mamdani that shows that when Donald Trump is president, New York Democrats want to see their leaders fight with enthusiasm and courage, and that's what Zohran showed voters."

Mr Cuomo had looked unbeatable as he sought to make a political comeback after facing sexual assault allegations in 2021. He told The New York Times he was still considering whether to run as an independent in November.

Mamdani made cost-of-living concerns the centrepiece of his campaign. Social media videos outlined his vision of free buses, free childcare, new apartments, and a higher minimum wage, all to be funded by new taxes on the wealthy. He now has a following of more than 1.1 million on Instagram and 400,000 on TikTok.

His optimistic vision of New York's future contrasted with Cuomo's campaign, which largely focused on his experience and his ability to deal with Donald Trump, as well as his goal to save a city that he described as out of control with crime and homelessness. It earned Mamdani the support of the party's progressive wing, although critics have argued that he lacks the experience to handle crises, with Cuomo claiming he was unqualified during the campaign.

Self-described anti-Zionist

In 2021, he described himself as an anti-Zionist. "It is Palestine that brought me into organising, and it is Palestine that I will always organise for." Throughout his campaign, he has made his stance on the war in Gaza clear, referring to Israel's offensive as a "genocide" against Palestinians and voicing support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. He has also stated he will have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he were to come to the city, after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him last year. 

Asked during a recent debate about whether he thought Israel had the right to exist as a Jewish state, he said, "I believe Israel has the right to exist, but as a state with equal rights" for people who aren't Jewish. Earlier this month, he said: "I'm not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else. I think that, in the way that we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country in the world. That's my belief."

Last week, Mamdani said that "globalise the intifada" was a legitimate expression that could be used by Palestinian supporters, which earned him immediate criticism from the US Holocaust Museum.

He has made his Muslim faith a visible part throughout his campaign. He visited mosques regularly and released a campaign video in Urdu about the city's cost-of-living crisis. He spoke to voters while fasting for Ramadan.

Mamdani's strong support of Palestinians and staunch criticism of Israel go further than most of the Democratic establishment. He introduced a bill to end the tax-exempt status of New York charities with ties to Israeli settlements that violate international human rights law. But he has also said that there is no room for antisemitism in New York City, adding that if he were elected, he would increase funding to combat hate crimes.

Mamdani's supporters say his victory could be an inflexion point in United States politics that shows the electoral viability of left-wing policies and support for Palestinian rights. New York is overwhelmingly Democratic – the Republican party have nominated Curtis Sliwa, who stood for mayor in 2021 - so as the party's nominee, he is likely to prevail in the general election on 4 November—an outcome that seemed impossible when he was polling at 1% in February this year.