Zohran Mamdani Makes History as NYC’s First Muslim and South Asian Mayor

Zohran Mamdani has been elected as New York’s 111th mayor, as reported by CNN. Born in Uganda to Indian parents, including celebrated filmmaker Mira Nair, and raised in NYC, Mamdani has become the city’s first Muslim mayor, its first of South Asian heritage, and its youngest in more than a century.

For New York’s immigrant and South Asian communities, Mamdani’s win felt personal. The 34-year-old democratic socialist from Queens leaned into his story as an American Muslim and the son of immigrants. During his victory speech, Mamdani gave an emotional nod to the communities that carried him to the finish line: “Yemeni bodega owners, Senegalese taxi drivers, Ethiopian aunties.”

If there was one defining issue of Mamdani’s campaign, it had to have been the cost of living. From rent to childcare to transportation, he ran on a platform that put working families first. He called for a rent freeze for more than two million rent-stabilized tenants, free and fast public buses, and universal childcare for all New York City families, an openly progressive agenda that resonated with voters who were tired of watching the city become unlivable for everyday people. Despite facing some ugly Islamophobic attacks in the last weeks of his race, Mamdani’s message of hope and economic justice ultimately prevailed.

And Mamdani’s win isn’t happening in isolation. In another historic move, Hmong-American woman Kaoly Her became the first Hmong mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, after defeating an incumbent with a late-start campaign rooted in grassroots door-knocking and community organizing.

Her victory also adds to a larger narrative of the rising political power of AAPI communities who are demanding representation and are making it real.

You can watch part of Mamdani's victory speech below:

Photo by Bingjiefu He/Wikimedia Commons