Voting for the 2025 mayoral election in America’s largest city will conclude on November 4. The withdrawal of New York’s current Democrat Mayor Eric Adams in September means the city will have a new leader – either rising Democratic star Zohran Mamdani, activist and unopposed Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa or former New York governor turned independent candidate Andrew Cuomo.
Considered a big outsider in the race, Silva is a conservative who hosts a radio talk show, describes himself as a populist and is famous for his vigilantes in the city such as the Guardian Angels group that aims to stop crime.
Cuomo, considered a largely centrist, resigned as governor of the city in 2021 following allegations of sexual misconduct. After a surprise defeat to Mamdani in the Democratic nomination in June, he decided to run as an independent.
Which makes Mamdani the heavy favourite.
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
The front-runner for the post of Mayor of New York was born in Uganda to parents of Indian origin. Her mother, Mira Nair, is a renowned Indian-American filmmaker and her father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an Indian-born Ugandan academic.
When Zoharan was five years old, the family briefly moved from Uganda to South Africa and settled in New York two years later. He has described his upbringing as “privileged”, but acknowledged that it was not the typical New York experience.
His political rise has been rapid. Elected to the New York Assembly in 2020, when he announced his mayoral campaign in October 2024 he was seen as an unknown who would not even come close to the nomination. In the end, his victory over Cuomo was confirmed with 56.4% of the vote.
More personally, Mamdani is a hip-hop fan and has performed and produced music in the genre. He is also a Muslim and a fan of several sports teams, including the New York Mets (baseball), the New York Giants (American football) and the English football team, Arsenal.
What are Mamdani’s policies and principles?
As a result of his pre-politics work in helping low-income people avoid eviction, housing affordability has been a cornerstone of his campaign. In a metropolis that 2025 deutsche bank report Having found that inner-city rents are among the most expensive in the world – an average three-bedroom apartment costs $8,500 (€7,345) a month – his calls to freeze rents on rent-stabilized units, increase affordable housing and more strictly regulate private landlords have struck a chord with New Yorkers.
Mamdani’s membership of the Democratic Socialists of America is another indicator of his beliefs. He has also advocated imposing a 2% tax on those earning more than $1 million per year in the city, increasing corporation taxes, introducing free buses, establishing a $30 minimum wage (up from $16.50), and expanding public child care offerings.
“You have to talk in a language that everyone can understand and see themselves in, and you also have to talk about the struggles that people are going through and that dominate their daily lives,” Mamdani told the British publication. New Statesman on September. “Often [Democrats have] Talk about democracy, but if you can’t afford to live in the city you call home, you don’t have enough time to worry about values.”
What do his critics say about Mamdani?
Given that his principles and policies are far from the national norm, there are many people who take issue with Mamdani. Some think that his brand of socialism, even in a city far more liberal-leaning than most of America, has made him a polarizing figure.
Former New York Governor David Paterson recently said, “These fears stem from the same concerns that people have about President Trump.” “He targets different audiences and speaks about holistic [groups of] People in a negative way. Zohran Mamdani has done the same. But he’s talking about people who are regular Democrats or regular Republicans.”
Mamdani’s long-term support for Palestinian rights has also been seen by some as a problem in the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel. “Clearly, clearly and on the record: I believe Zoharan Mamdani is a threat to the New York Jewish community,” Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of the conservative Park Avenue Synagogue said in a sermon earlier this month. However, this is not a sentiment universally shared among New York’s Jewish population and many have said they approve of Mamdani.
The business community has also expressed apprehension. High-profile investor Bill Ackman said on X that Mamdani’s “anti-business policies, including higher corporate taxes, will destroy NYC jobs and cause companies to flee.”
Why is the role of New York Mayor important?
With a population of approximately 8.5 million and approximately 65 million visitors each year, New York is a major global cultural and financial center, with significant challenges around housing, transportation, and public finance. The mayoral program comes with a budget of $116 billion and is wide-ranging in scope – from schools to police.
The city’s size and its global profile mean that work is conducted on the national and international stage, with many previous mayors of New York having unsuccessfully run for the US presidency.
Should Mamdani win, his vocal feud with Trump, himself a New Yorker, is also likely to be an ongoing topic of discussion. Trump has called Mamdani a “communist lunatic” and a “disaster waiting to happen.” The mayoral candidate, for his part, has said he will try to work with President Trump for the sake of the city, but will not be intimidated.
He told Trump via an interview with political satirist The Good Liars, “If you want to talk about how you can make life more difficult for New Yorkers by coming after so many people in this city and the city structure, I will be there to fight you.”
With their seemingly diametrically opposed political views, the relationship between the president and New York’s potential new mayor could become another battleground in American politics.
Edited by Ben Knight