Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayor

The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani attends the 2025 New York City Pride March on June 29, 2025
Mamdani pulled off his stunning victory by campaigning on an unapologetically progressive platform
(Image credit: Noam Galai / Getty Images)

New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani's unexpected victory in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary makes him the presumptive favorite to be the city's next chief executive. While the city has not released a final result due to ranked choice votes still being tallied, his leading opponent, scandal-plagued former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has already conceded.

A campaign that started with almost no chance of success came out of virtually nowhere to best household-name Cuomo. Mamdani's rise to prominence has been swift, and observers are already grappling with the implications of his victory for national politics.

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David Faris

David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.