Ugandan-born Zohran Mamdani Tops Race for New York City Mayor

Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old son of renowned Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani and celebrated filmmaker Mira Nair, has stunned the US political establishment after pulling ahead in New York City's mayoral Democratic primary.

Born in Kampala and now on the verge of becoming New York’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani’s grassroots-powered rise marks a seismic shift in American progressive politics.

With 91% of ballots counted by Tuesday night, Mamdani led with 43.5% of the vote, ahead of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who trailed at 36.4%.

Although New York uses a ranked-choice voting system and the final result may take days, Cuomo conceded defeat, telling supporters: “Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.”

Born in Kampala in 1991, Zohran Kwame Mamdani moved to the United States at the age of seven. He had left Uganda two years earlier for South Africa when his parents relocated for academic and creative work.

His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a globally respected political theorist and professor, while his mother, Mira Nair, is the Indian-born Ugandan filmmaker behind critically acclaimed films such as Queen of Katwe, which was partly inspired by their life in Uganda.

Though raised in New York City, Mamdani has maintained ties with Uganda and has spoken publicly about the influence of his multicultural heritage.

He returned to Kampala several times as a child and adolescent, often citing the city's vibrant political and social dynamics as central to his worldview.

If confirmed as the Democratic nominee, Mamdani is all but assured of becoming the city’s 111th mayor in November. His opponent in the general election, incumbent mayor Eric Adams, is running as an independent and is widely unpopular following a string of corruption allegations—charges that were only recently dropped under controversial circumstances involving the Trump administration.

Mamdani’s candidacy has been hailed as a rebuke to the centrist Democratic establishment.

Despite Cuomo’s extensive name recognition and more than $25 million in outside spending, Mamdani’s energetic, youth-driven campaign—amplified by endorsements from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders—won the hearts of many New Yorkers, especially among immigrant and working-class communities.

His platform included promises to freeze rents, make buses free, and confront the city’s housing crisis. He also benefitted from strategic cross-endorsements, notably with New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who finished third in the primary with 11.4%.

Cuomo praised Mamdani’s ability to galvanize young voters, saying, “He put together a great campaign and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote.”

Mamdani's rise underscores the growing influence of progressive politics in the U.S., particularly among diaspora communities.

His journey—from a Kampala-born child of African and South Asian intellectuals to the brink of leading America’s largest city—marks a significant milestone in both Ugandan and American political history.