New York’s new mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has won the race for mayor becoming New York’s first Muslim Mayor. He has a promise to make New York a more affordable place. To help get every voice heard.

 His campaign was the source of a lot of buzz. During his campaign Mamdani had to face a lot of islamophobia during his run. Some of which included images of him in front of the twin towers on 9/11, alteration of his face in images to make him look threatening, and comments from President Trump calling him a communist. In response to these comments he gave a speech in the Bronx saying “I will no longer be in the shadows. I am Muslim, I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.” This act of embracing who he is gained him a lot of support from the Muslim community as well as immigrants. 

Mamdani put in a lot of work during his campaign to talk to and establish grounds with black, young, and immigrant demographics. His opponent Cuomo had a lot of the wealthy population throughout the election but Mamdani gaining of the support from the mentioned demographics helped push him to a win. 

The young voter demographic was moved by his goal to make the city more affordable and to help make the city livable. One notable plan to achieve this is his plan to freeze rent for rent stabilized apartments. 

The black voter demographic was concerned with how the rent freezing plan would affect black homeowners. They were eventually swayed by Mamdani’s outreach efforts and endorsements. 

Immigrant voters were moved by Mamdani expressing his religion so proudly. They were fighting to have the first Muslim mayor of New York. When they witnessed the Islamphobic attacks that he was facing, it rallied them together even more.

As gentrification causing the shrinking of nonwhite population in some areas was a big topic for New Yorkers in this election Mamdani and all he stands for with religion, culture and race is working to find a place for all in New York. 

Much of the New York Orthodox Jewish population is very concerned with Mamdani’s win, saying they have fears for their children. There has been no proven cause aside from religious differences. 

Since winning, Mamdani has started work building a relationship with NYPD after giving them some criticism, meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul to discuss how to start a universal healthcare program and deal with President Trump’s threats.

Trump and Mamdani have been butting heads on multiple fronts. With Trump calling Mamdani a communist lunatic, threats to pull city funding if he won, putting lots of biased support toward his competitors, and threatening to pull his citizenship even though Mamdani though originally from Uganda is a US citizen. Mamdani has criticized the president, his policies, and his immigration actions. Mamdani has stated that he would still be willing to work with the president. 

Trump has said that they are currently making plans to meet at some point soon. (Article was written prior to their Nov. 21st meeting).

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/us/mamdani-nyc-voters-election-demographics.html 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/09/zohran-mamdani-politics-immigrant-identity 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2025-elections/new-york-city-mayor-results

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/17/trump-zohran-mamdani-meeting