Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoral election after energizing young voters with focus on affordability

Zohran Mamdani will be the 111th mayor of New York, CBS News Projectscapping a closely watched campaign in which the little-known state lawmaker energized voters by emphasizing the need to make America’s largest city more affordable.

The 34-year-old democratic socialist beat the Republican candidate Curtis Slawa And former governor Andrew CuomoWHO presented himself as independent After lose a Democratic primary that he was initially entered as the undisputed favorite. The mayoral race has attracted the attention of President Trumpwho supported Cuomo the day before the election and threatened to withhold federal funds in New York under the leadership of Mayor Mamdani.

Mamdani’s message focused on the cost of livingenergizing a coalition of young, progressive voters, even as critics questioned his lack of experience and raised concerns about his stance on Israel. He pledged to freeze rents rent-stabilized apartments and raise taxes on the wealthy to fund a host of new services, like free buses and city-run grocery stores.

When he takes office, Mamdani will make history as the city’s first Muslim mayor. At 34, he will also be one of the city’s youngest mayors, but not the youngest ever: that distinction belongs to Hugh J. Grant, who was 31 when he was elected to his first term in 1889.

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Mamdani promises “continuous improvement”

Mamdani promised to bring New York City into an era of “continuous improvement” he won the mayor’s office on Tuesday evening.

He said his victory was for the workers of New York and reiterated his campaign promises on affordability.

“Let the words we spoke together, the dreams we dreamed together become the agenda we achieve together,” Mamdani said. “New York, this power is yours. This city belongs to you. Thank you.”

Mamdani’s journey

Mamdani was born in Uganda and moved to New York when he was 7 years old. He attended the elite Bronx High School of Science before heading to Bowdoin College.

In 2018, he became an American citizen.

His parents are political science professor Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair. Mamdani is married to artist Rama Duawaji. They live in Queens, where Mamdani has served as a state assemblyman since 2021, representing Astoria, Astoria Heights and Ditmars-Steinway in Queens.

Mamdani’s politics

Mamdani focused his campaign on reducing the cost of living. He promised to freeze the rent for rent-stabilized housing in the city. He also committed to providing free bus service and open city-owned grocery stores in every borough. Mamdani also says he wants to build 200,000 affordable housing units.

To fund his proposals, Mamdani said he would raise taxes on corporations and top earners by 2 percent, but he will need help from Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature to get there.

His candidacy was greeted enthusiastically by prominent progressive colleagues like Senator Bernie Sanders And Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He finally got the approval of certain senior Democrats, including Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader And Hochul.

At Mamdani’s position on Israel attracted attention during the campaign. He condemned the October 7 terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on Israel, but also criticized the Israeli government’s response, calling the war in Gaza a genocide. Israel said his comments were “shameful”.

Mamdani says, while supporting Israel’s right to exist, he won’t say it should exist as a Jewish state.

“I would not recognize the right of any state to exist with a system of hierarchy based on race or religion,” he said at the candidates’ press conference. second and final debate.

He also said critics had wrongly accused him of more extreme statements.

“I have never, not once, spoken in favor of global jihad. That is not something that I have said. And that continues to be attributed to me. And frankly, I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate who is on the verge of winning this election,” Mamdani said during the last debate.

Mamdani and the NYPD

Mamdani was heavily criticized for his past remarks regarding the NYPD. He had previously called for the disbandment of the Strategic Response Group, which was the same unit that responded to the Midtown office shooting in July. He has since returned to this point, saying he was opposed to using this unit to respond to protests.

“I do not defund the police”, Mamdani said this summer. “I’m not running to defund the police.”

In a October interview with Fox NewsMamdani apologized again for remarks he made about the NYPD in 2020, when he called the department “racist” and a “threat to public safety” amid nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“We used to ask police officers to focus on serious crimes. Now we’re asking them to also focus on the mental health crisis, to also focus on the homeless,” Mamdani said last month. “Absolutely, I’m going to apologize to the officers right here. Because that’s the apology that I’ve shared with many rank-and-file officers. And I apologize because I seek to work with these officers, and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, put their lives on the line every day.”

Mamdani also recently said he would ask Jessica Tisch to remain police commissioner.