New York City elected Zohran Mamdani as mayor on November 4, 2025, marking several historic firsts. He will be the city’s youngest mayor since 1892, as well as its first Indian American and Muslim mayor.

Mamdani announced his candidacy on October 23, 2024, running on a progressive platform focused on affordability, housing and public services. His proposals included free city buses, a rent freeze in rent-stabilized housing and the construction of 200,000 new affordable housing units.

Mamdani also supported universal child care, public safety reform, a $30 minimum wage by 2030 and tax increases on corporations and individuals earning over $1 million. Additionally, Mamdani proposed that the city operate five grocery stores—one in each borough—to lower grocery prices.

For most of the primary campaign, Mamdani trailed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in polling, though both raised similar amounts of money. Mamdani, however, had a considerably larger donor base. A poll taken shortly before the June 24, 2025, primary showed him catching up to Cuomo. First-choice results on election night showed Mamdani with a large lead and Cuomo conceded the race that evening.

Ranked-choice voting further increased Mamdani’s margin, aided by a cross-endorsement arrangement with third-favored candidate Brad Lander. On July 1, the Associated Press officially announced Mamdani as the primary winner, a result widely considered a major upset.

Mamdani’s campaign received support from the New Yorkers for Lower Costs super PAC, which spent approximately $1.3 million backing him and opposing Cuomo before the primary and raised an additional $1 million afterward. The super PAC received $100,000 in contributions from the Unity and Justice Fund in May and June 2025. Cuomo criticized this support, calling it “dirty money” and linking the fund to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

In early November, President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding for New York City should Mamdani be elected mayor.

In his victory speech, Mamdani quoted former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s Tryst with Destiny and labor leader Eugene V. Debs, saying, “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”