Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani shoots to stardom ‘like a young Obama’

NEW YORK − According to his friend Kenny Burgos, Zohran Mamdani’s historic campaign to lead New York City began with him musing about who from the Democratic Socialists of America should challenge centrist Mayor Eric Adams.

Mamdani, 34, was then a fresh-faced first-term state Assembly member. Burgos, a fellow freshman, sat next to him in the state Capitol in Albany.

“I said, ‘it should be you,’” Burgos told USA TODAY. “I said, ‘there’s not a single person in the DSA that has a higher level of ability to run for office.”

More: ‘Our country has failed them.’ Zohran Mamdani talks to USA TODAY about younger voters.

Much to the chagrin of the landlords that Burgos now works for − he is CEO of the New York Apartment Association − Mamdani stands at the precipice of becoming mayor of the nation’s largest city. Polls show Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, leading former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, by double digits, with Republican Curtis Sliwa a distant third.

As he rides an affordability-focused platform to national super-stardom, the overnight sensation reminds some political observers of another telegenic young politician, this one an Illinois state senator who skyrocketed to fame 20 years ago.

“He is, like a young Obama, very compelling, has a great back story,” political analyst Ross Barkan said. “He has a real charm, a way with people. He has great social media, but you need the charm to make the social media work.”

Much like former President Barack Obama, Mamdani has become the target of Islamophobic insults from opponents, such as Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has called him “Jihadist and terrorist sympathizer Commie Mamdani.” Congressional Republican leaders have even begun blaming him for the federal government shutdown.

More: Bloomberg, congressional centrists back Cuomo to block Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor

But Mamdani remains personally liked by many of his adversaries, whose public attacks he brushes off his shoulder like fellow-hip hop fan Obama famously did, in an homage to Jay-Z.

Mamdani’s ability to rise above the attacks shows that a new electorate in New York City − more ethnically diverse and ideologically progressive − has changed the rules. No longer does one have to be a steadfast supporter of Israel or aligned with the powerful real estate industry to become mayor.

Just as Obama showed a Black man with a Muslim middle name could be president, Mamdani shows an actual Muslim and self-described socialist can conquer the capital of capitalism.

Hip-hop and high rent

As young legislators, Mamdani and Burgos bonded over a love of hip-hop, creating a joint Spotify playlist of weed-themed songs to celebrate the passage of marijuana legalization in New York state. It “spoke to the difference in approach and ability − and desire to − connect to a younger base of constituents (and) engage folks in the political process,” Burgos said.

That connection to younger voters is apparent at Mamdani’s rallies, which draw thousands of supporters and can include uncommon features like the clever use of hip-hop − such as when former Federal Trade Commissioner Lina Khan, who’s known for taking on Big Tech, walked on stage in mid-October to the tune of Warren G’s “Regulate.”

“I’ve heard this again and again from older New Yorkers, that it was a younger family member who came up to them and first made the case about why it was time for a change,” Mamdani told USA TODAY on Oct. 31 “And I just so appreciate these younger voters, because again and again − while they’ve been spoken to with such condescension in our politics − they’ve shown that they can, in fact, be at the heart of a new kind of politics that puts working people at the heart of it.”

While Burgos now opposes Mamdani’s candidacy due to the democratic socialist’s signature proposal to freeze rents in the city’s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, he and Mamdani remain friends.

‘Listening to New Yorkers’

A lot of politicians follow a common trajectory: go to law school, work in a legislative office or as an attorney, and then run for office. Among his fellow New York Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jerry Nadler embody the archetype.

Mamdani is not one of those politicians.

He came up as a grassroots social justice activist. Instead of joining the College Democrats, he founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine at Bowdoin College.

After graduating with a degree in Africana studies, he tried his hand at rapping. That performing experience and an irreverent sensibility is reflected in the widely popular social media videos that powered his early rise in the polls (a famous one showed him diving into the Atlantic Ocean in winter to demonstrate his commitment to freezing the rent).

“He’s a good mimic, he’s good at doing voices,” Barkan, a writer whose 2018 state Senate campaign Mamdani managed, told USA TODAY. “He’s a fun guy.”

More: House Republicans attack Zohran Mamdani ahead of NYC mayoral election

Barkan’s was one of several unsuccessful progressive campaigns Mamdani worked on before getting a job as a foreclosure prevention counselor at a nonprofit.

That activist bent first brought Mamdani widespread attention in October 2021, when the first-year lawmaker joined a 45-day protest by taxi drivers for debt relief in front of New York City Hall.

“Every driver knew him by name and he knew them by name,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “And then he started pulling his phone out and interviewing the drivers and he started posting the videos on his social media.”

“He gave a voice to the drivers,” Desai said.

Viral videos of Mamdani talking to regular New Yorkers helped launch him to stardom. After President Donald Trump’s 2024 victory, Mamdani went to working-class, immigrant-heavy neighborhoods that had swung towards Trump and asked voters who they voted for and why.

The widely shared video charged his campaign with momentum.

Courting New Yorkers who voted for Trump

“I believe we can win this race by listening to New Yorkers where too many have sought to lecture them,” Mamdani told USA TODAY in the spring, when he still lagged former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign in the polls.

“When I went to Hillside Ave. in Queens and Fordham Road in the Bronx, in two of the hearts of that 11-and-a-half point swing towards Trump that we saw across our state − the greatest of any in the country − what I heard from New Yorkers was a desperation for a more affordable life and a willingness to consider anyone who would be interested in fighting for them,” Mamdani continued.

“And when I introduced myself as that candidate, they told me − having just voted for Donald Trump − that they would vote for me in the election if it meant freezing the rent, if it meant fast and free buses, if it meant universal childcare,” he said.

An organizer who legislates

Mamdani modestly attributes his vault past better-known candidates to the issues he has championed. In addition to the rent freeze, Mamdani has proposed to make city buses free and to provide universal childcare, paid for with higher taxes on the rich.

“I think my success comes from the underlying context where people are being priced out of the city that they love and they are desperate for anyone to recognize that and to fight for a better future,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents. His mother is the Oscar-nominated director Mira Nair and his father Mahmood Mamdani teaches at Columbia University. Mamdani was raised in his father’s Islamic faith near Columbia’s Manhattan campus.

Not only would Mamdani be New York City’s first Muslim mayor and its first Asian American mayor, he would be the first from the borough of Queens, where he lives in a rent-stabilized apartment − which Cuomo has criticized him for occupying. Often hailed as one of the most diverse counties in the country, Queens residents are more than 48% foreign-born, according to the Census.

Mamdani won his 2020 state Assembly race by combining the enthusiasm of young progressives with South Asian and Muslim voters, and he repeated the feat citywide in the 2025 mayoral primary.

Like the 44th president, Mamdani has seen a precipitous rise to high office after just a few years as an obscure state legislator. They share fathers who were academics from East Africa, connections to Columbia (Obama’s alma mater) and childhood exposure to Islam.

Both also began their political careers in grassroots activism.

“Zohran’s strength is people: He’s very good at organizing and inspiring people,” Barkan said. “He’s a great canvasser himself. He taught me how to door-knock.”

“I see Zohran as an organizer who legislates,” Desai said. “He’s a movement candidate.”

Like Obama in 2008, Mamdani has mobilized an army of foot soldiers, putting the social in social movement.

At each of two recent rallies, USA TODAY met pairs of volunteers who had met while canvassing and become fast friends. For all, it was their first time volunteering for a candidate. One duo were both young, relative newcomers to the city. The other included a middle-aged man from Virginia and an elderly woman from California.

The rallies feature rambunctious energy. At an Oct. 26 rally at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, the 10,000-strong crowd broke into foot stomping at one speaker’s profane dismissal of Cuomo and interrupted others with chants of “tax the rich.”

A happy warrior

It’s not only Mamdani’s strengths that resemble Obama’s, but also his weaknesses.

Cuomo mocks Mamdani’s thin resume, just as Republicans derided Obama’s qualifications.

And just as Obama was castigated for his friendships with far-left figures such as former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Mamdani has drawn heat for posing for photos with an anti-gay Ugandan politician and a Brooklyn imam whose congregants included perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. (Mamdani, a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights, said he was unaware of the Ugandan official’s record and noted that the same imam had also met with Mayor Adams and two of his predecessors.)

Like Obama, Mamdani has succeeded despite liabilities that would have sunk a less gifted candidate. Obama eventually engaged with the Wright controversy in a nuanced speech about race.

More: NYC Mayor Eric Adams could prevent Zohran Mamdani from freezing rents

Mamdani initially tried to stay on-message offering a quick disavowal of an unsavory association or controversial past statement and pivoting back his agenda. More recently, Mamdani tackled the Islamophobic attacks against him head-on, with a heartfelt message that drew comparisons to Obama’s race speech.

“I thought that if I behaved well enough or bit my tongue enough in the face of racist, baseless attacks, all while returning back to my central message, it would allow me to be more than just my faith,” Mamdani said. “I was wrong.”

“In an era of ever-diminishing bipartisanship, it seems that Islamophobia has emerged as one of the few areas of agreement,” he lamented.

It was a rare, sorrowful diversion from his usually upbeat persona. Both approaches serve to reassure voters that he doesn’t have the divisive attitude of an extremist and they contrast starkly with Cuomo, 67, who recently warned that “Our diversity is our strength, but it can also be a weakness.”

On Nov. 1, Obama phoned Mamdani and offered to serve as a sounding board for him during a 30-minute phone call, The New York Times reported.

‘Interactions with thousands of people’

Mamdani has been haunted by past statements that strike many as extreme. In 2020, he described the NYPD as “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety” and called to “defund this rogue agency.” He recently apologized for those comments and has said he isn’t seeking to cut the police department’s budget.

After resisting calls to disavow the anti-Israel phrase “globalize the intifada,” which many see as antisemitic, Mamdani said in July he would discourage its use. On Oct. 28, it was revealed that he had said in 2023, “When the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

But Mamdani also shares Obama’s desire to reach out to adversaries and be a unifying force in politics.

The New York Times recently reported that Mamdani has been taking private meetings with business leaders, moderate Democratic fundraisers and power brokers since his upset win in the primary.

While much of that has occurred behind closed doors, Mamdani demonstrated the same instinct when he went on Fox News’ “The Story With Martha MacCallum,” on Oct. 15 and ran campaign commercials on the conservative network. He has said he would like to keep current NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch if elected.

“Zohran has spoken to more ordinary voters than any politician I can think of, because he’s worked on multiple campaigns,” Barkan said. “And he’s had the experience of knocking on doors and standing at street fairs and train stations and having interactions with thousands of people.”

“And that includes Trump voters,” Barkan added. “Our district at the time was fairly conservative. And that didn’t deter him at all.”

A distinctly New York City childhood

Mamdani is in many ways a typical product of Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood, which borders the famously liberal Upper West Side. He attended a progressive private school, then an academically elite public high school in the Bronx and a prestigious liberal arts college in Maine.

Being South Asian-American, his sports of choice include British Premier League soccer and cricket. But in an almost-40% foreign-born city, even his cosmoplitanism is normal.

While the conservative New York Post has tried to label Mamdani a “nepo baby” − never mind that that Cuomo’s father Mario was a three-term governor − his background is merely upper-middle class in Manhattan, where private-school progressives are as common as harried pedestrians.

“He very much is a kid of the city,” Barkan said. “I think that appeals too: immigrant kid, grew up here.”

The Schumer snub

Moderate Democrats recoiled after Mamdani upset Cuomo in the June Democratic primary.

“The last thing New York and other blue jurisdictions need is higher taxes,” Rep. Tom Suozzi from Long Island wrote in the Wall Street Journal oped. “People are already fleeing cities and states with sky-high taxes.” On Oct. 29, Suozzi endorsed Cuomo, as did billionaire former Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Some top New York Democrats, such as Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, endorsed Mamdani. But the state’s two U.S. senators, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, have stayed neutral.

‘Hurting the people we’re trying to protect’

It isn’t just elected officials who worry about some of his proposals, however well intentioned.

Burgos, Mamdani’s friend, says his plan to freeze the rent will create unintended consequences like foreclosure and abandonment of buildings where the cost of keeping an apartment up to code is more than the legally allowable rent. (Mamdani has said the city government would pay to renovate those units.)

“I wholly disagree with him on the policy,” Burgos said. “I think the housing policy in New York is so backwards that we’re actually hurting the people we’re trying to protect.”

Transportation wonks express mixed feelings about Mamdani’s free-bus pledge. Eric Goldwyn, a program director at the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University, said surveys show transit riders care more about speed and reliability than cost.

“I can’t support him as a candidate,” Burgos said, “but I do have respect for him as an individual and certainly someone who has changed the political landscape.”

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Zohran Mamdani New York’s Barack Obama?