Zohran Mamdani se présente à la mairie pour réduire le coût de la vie des New-Yorkais de la classe ouvrière.

There’s a reason he resonates with so many New Yorkers, and it’s not just because he’s relatable—he grew up here, almost failed Mandarin class, and got sent to detention one too many times in high school—it’s because he’s straightforward, funny, and sincere. He is the antithesis of politics for show. He has proven to be what many voters now think is impossible: an elected official for the people.

In the crowded race for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani has become a magnet for attention, ascending in the polls and raising money through a mix of social media savvy and a plain-spoken, everyman approach.

As Democrats around the country debate moderation, doing nothing or pursuing a politics of abundance — calling for government to stop getting in the way of things like building housing with over-regulation — Mamdani is an example of another path, one that follows in the footsteps of Sanders by lifting up concrete leftist policies toward a social safety net and affordable cost of living.

A recent surge of glowing profiles and features have underlined the New York state assemblyman’s unlikely No. 2 position in polls for mayor, behind only Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor who leads the race. They tend to point to his acumen online, especially on TikTok—this kind of video is a prime example—and his ambidextrous appeal to different voters despite his unapologetic democratic socialist politics. His fundraising, driven by small donors, has topped $8 million. He is the rare Democrat who is meeting the most stark and uncertain moment in the party’s recent history with a message that’s both urgent and, against all odds, upbeat.

The democratic socialist, who is currently serving as a state assemblymember from Queens, said he plans to announce Monday that his campaign is the first in the New York City mayor's race to hit the fundraising cap. He said he has raised more than $8 million with projected matching funds from about 18,000 donors citywide and has done so at a faster rate than any campaign in city history.

Mr. Mamdani, who has called on Mr. Adams to resign, said in an interview that the mayor had failed New Yorkers. He said that he would focus his campaign on addressing the city’s affordability crisis.

In 2021, Mamdani went on a 15-day hunger strike to protest predatory loans that targeted the taxi drivers who purchased “medallions”, the physical certificate required to operate a yellow cab. The city eventually caved and struck a deal with medallion loan guarantors, securing $450m in transformative debt relief for these drivers.

In the crowded 2025 mayoral primary race, Zohran Mamdani stands out. The 33-year-old Queens State Assemblymember was behind the City's first free bus pilot, introduced legislation that would bar charities from funding illegal Israeli settlements, and went on a hunger strike to secure debt relief for taxi drivers. Mamdani was born and raised in Uganda until he moved to New York at the age of seven, and would be the city's first Muslim mayor.

A New York City mayoral candidate wants the city to open its own, more affordable grocery stores. The idea has gained momentum in Chicago and other cities.