Who is Zohran Mamdani? New York City mayoral candidate endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has recently endorsed Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as one of the top choices for NYC mayor, giving him a major push in the contest. AOC's move unveiled her preferred slate in the June 24 primary in an interview Thursday with The New York Times. She also ranked four others in the NYT interview for the top position in New York City. Adrienne Adams, Brad Lander, Scott Stringer, and Zellnor Myrie feature in her preference list, with Mamdani topping it. Her backing is huge for Mamdani as she’s massively influential with younger, progressive voters.

Who is Zohran Mamdani?

Zohran Mamdani is a 33-year-old Democratic Socialist state assemblyman from Queens, shaking up New York City’s mayoral race. He was born in Uganda to an Indian-born Columbia University professor father and filmmaker mother, Mira Nair, moving to NYC at age seven. After graduating from Bronx High School of Science and Bowdoin College, he became a US citizen in 2018. Now in his third Assembly term, he’s known for bold progressive ideas like making city buses free, freezing rents on stabilized apartments, and opening city-run grocery stores in "food desert" neighborhoods.

Current polling shows Cuomo is slightly ahead of Mamdani in first-choice votes, but ranked-choice simulations show Mamdani narrowing that gap significantly by the final round.

His campaign currently has serious energy with over 20,000 volunteers knocking on doors citywide. He’s also scooped up endorsements from the progressive Working Families Party and United Auto Workers leader Shawn Fain. During a fiery debate, Mamdani slammed Cuomo as corrupt and declared himself “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare” as a “progressive, Muslim immigrant” who fights for his beliefs.

Cuomo fired back, mocking Mamdani’s experience. Progressives hope AOC’s endorsement convinces skeptical voters he can actually win, and inspires younger New Yorkers to turn out on June 24.