How Zohran Mamdani rose to NYC's mayor office after four years in politics

• To great effect, Mamdani's massive grassroots campaign deployed social media to broadcast his affordability proposals — including a rent freeze and city-run grocery stores — as well as marathon in-person outreach to low-income New Yorkers and communities of color.

By the numbers: Mamdani went from notching 1% in primary polling to becoming the first candidate in more than 50 years to win over one million votes in a NYC mayoral election.

Driving the news: Mamdani's win makes him the city's first Muslim and South Asian mayor, as well as one of the highest-placed democratic socialists in the United States.

• About three-quarters of New York City voters under 30 voted for Mamdani, according to the Associated Press.
• Though young voters were a relatively small portion of the city's electorate, they were also much more likely than older voters to say it was their first time voting in a mayoral election, per the AP.
• Mamdani made huge inroads with low-income voters and voters of color as well.

Here's what to know about Mamdani's career:

Mamdani's early years, college

Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, immigrating with his family to New York City when he was seven years old.

• Both of his parents, Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, are from India originally. Nair is an acclaimed director, best known for her 1991 film Mississippi Masala, and Mahmood Mamdani is a professor of anthropology at Columbia University.

Mamdani attended the Bronx High School of Science, a specialized public school.

• There, Mamdani founded the school's first cricket team.
• "This act, though not ostensibly a political one, taught him how coming together with a few like-minded individuals can transform rhetoric into reality," according to the biography on his New York assemblymember website.

Mamdani earned a bachelor's degree in Africana studies from Bowdoin College in 2014, where he also founded the school's first Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.

He became a naturalized US citizen in 2018.

Housing counselor

Before entering politics, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counselor.

• As a counselor, per his bio, he helped "low-income homeowners of color across Queens fight off eviction and stay in their homes."

• "It was this job that led him to run for office. After having spent every day negotiating with banks that valued profits over people, he came face-to-face with the reality that this housing crisis – one which predated this pandemic – was not natural to our lives, but instead a choice."

Assemblymember

Mamdani was elected to the New York Assembly in 2020.

• He represents the 36th Assembly District and its neighborhoods of Astoria, Ditmars-Steinway, and Astoria Heights — all located in Queens.
• At the time of his election, Mamdani became the first South Asian man, the first Ugandan, and one of only three Muslims to ever serve in the body.

Zoom in: Mamdani's team frequently tied key campaigns as assemblyman to Mamdani's central mayoral economic proposals.

• One such campaign was a 2021 hunger strike among NYC taxi drivers — which Mamdani joined — advocating for debt relief for drivers who had been the victims of financial schemes.
• After 15 days of striking, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to cap debt loads and monthly payments for the drivers.

Mamdani has also frequently referenced a fare-free bus pilot that he championed.

• The pilot made a single bus route in each borough free for one year between September 2023 and 2024.
• A key policy proposal of his mayoral campaign is to expand that citywide, covering over 330 routes and about 1 million paid trips per weekday.