Zohran Mamdani, the recently elected mayor of New York City, has grown from a nobody to a somebody in the past 365 days. Now, he’s quickly making a unique impact on US voters, especially immigrants and members of the Muslim community.
On election day, many people around the world were eager to hear the results of the 2025 mayoral election for the city of New York. This was due to Zohran Mamdani, an underdog political candidate, a Muslim immigrant from Uganda, and a self-described democratic socialist whose campaigning went viral on social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook. Mr. Mamdani seeks to connect with his audience and supporters, creating a positive social media presence and influence. Being seen on public transport, at Knicks games, and everywhere on TikTok, his socialist views caused a huge buzz, reaching other states, regions, and even other countries. His displayed socialism is the “pursuit of dignity”, and addresses income inequality, ensuring a better distribution of wealth in society. Against Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Silwa, Mamdani won the mayoral election by 50.4% and with 1,036,051 votes.
“It’s not easy to be elected in America, and it’s even harder to run the city. If you can do it in New York, you can do something much bigger in America,” ELHS history teacher Matthew Laconti said.
Although he receives lots of praise, Mamdani has also experienced racism and has faced lots of controversy for running for the position. Because he is a Muslim immigrant from Uganda, lots of critics refer to him as a communist and believe that American politics is impractical for him to be involved. Many even falsely question his legal status, including President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold federal funding for New York City and revoke Mamdani’s citizenship if he won.
“He’s been marginalised because of his background, and faces tons of stereotypical perceptions. But we know they aren’t true at all,” junior Rayaan Asghar said.
In this new position, Mamdani will represent a very homogeneous landscape, but also a very diverse community.
In addition, Mamdani is empowering the large Muslim community and has become a role model in representing minorities. For generations, the Muslim community has felt invisible, with a lack of political belonging. Through the use of anti-Muslim rhetoric, discriminatory policies, and a lack of support of hate incidents, the community has even been ignored in terms of politics. Although not the first in this position, Mamdani has uniquely embraced his identity, displaying pride in his ethnicity throughout his campaigning and career. He demonstrates the unprecedented idea of a Muslim American winning in political office and has made Muslim communities much more visible. He also shows that immigrants and Muslims can have a voice and leadership roles in politics.
“His story and status show and inspire me that I can work towards anything,” Asghar said.
In a speech after his victory, Mamdani said, “I will be a Muslim man in New York City. I will not change who I am. I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light. ”Although many are against his campaigning, he encourages everyone to pay attention to both the Muslim community and the future of politics, contributing to a stable political future for the country.
“I feel that the election of a Muslim mayor gives me a lot of hope, and shows that our Islamic community is being recognized more, and that we’re moving towards representation,” sophomore Raisa Zayed said.
Looking ahead, Mamdani will navigate being the mayor of a diverse and significant city. His story has shown that anything is possible and that embracing who you are can lead to unity and success.
