Zohran Mamdani facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani in 2025
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Aravella Simotas
Personal details
Born	Zohran Kwame Mamdani (1991-10-18) October 18, 1991 (age 33) Kampala, Uganda
Citizenship	Uganda United States
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	Democratic Socialists of America Working Families
Spouse	Rama Duwaji ​ (m. 2025)​
Parents	Mahmood Mamdani (father) Mira Nair (mother)
Education	Bowdoin College (BA)
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Zohran Kwame Mamdani (born October 18, 1991) is an American politician. Since 2021, he has been a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 36th district in Queens. The State Assembly is part of the government that makes laws for New York State.

Mamdani is a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America. This group believes the government should play a larger role in providing services like healthcare and housing for everyone. In 2025, he won the Democratic Party's primary election to become their candidate for mayor of New York City.

He was born in Kampala, Uganda, to a family of Indian heritage. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a professor, and his mother, Mira Nair, is a famous movie director. His family moved to the United States when he was seven, and he grew up in New York City. Before becoming a politician, he worked as a housing counselor and a hip-hop musician.

Early Life and School

Zohran Mamdani was born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda. His parents are both of Indian descent. His father is a Muslim from a family that lived in Uganda for a long time, and his mother is a Hindu who was born in India.

When Zohran was five, his family moved to Cape Town, South Africa. Two years later, when he was seven, they moved to New York City. He grew up in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. He has said that he had a "privileged" childhood, meaning he had everything he needed, but he knew that many other New Yorkers did not.

In middle school, he ran in a mock election (a practice election for students) and won. His platform was about equal rights and spending more money on education instead of the military. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, where he started the school's first cricket team. After high school, he went to Bowdoin College in Maine and graduated in 2014.

Career Before Politics

Housing Counselor

Before running for office, Mamdani worked as a housing counselor. He helped people in Queens who were having trouble paying for their homes and were at risk of being evicted. He said this work showed him how serious the housing problem was in New York City and made him want to get into politics to help fix it.

Music Career

Mamdani is also a rap musician. He has used the stage names Young Cardamom and Mr. Cardamom. In 2016, he worked with a Ugandan rapper named HAB on a collection of songs. They rapped in both English and Luganda, a language spoken in Uganda. Their music was about their experiences as Ugandans with different backgrounds.

In 2019, he released a song called "Nani" as a tribute to his grandmother. The famous actress Madhur Jaffrey appeared in the music video for the song, playing his grandmother. He also worked as the music supervisor for his mother's 2016 movie, Queen of Katwe.

Entering Politics

Mamdani became interested in politics by volunteering for local campaigns. In 2017, he joined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). He worked as a campaign manager and organizer for other politicians before deciding to run for office himself.

New York State Assembly

Mamdani at a rally in Bryant Park (October 2024)

In 2019, Mamdani announced he was running for the New York State Assembly. He wanted to represent the 36th district, which includes the neighborhoods of Astoria and Long Island City. He defeated the incumbent (the person who held the office before him), Aravella Simotas, in the Democratic primary election. He then won the main election in November 2020. He was reelected in 2022 and 2024.

As an Assembly member, Mamdani helped start a program that made some bus routes in the city free to ride. He also joined a hunger strike to support taxi drivers who were struggling with debt.

2025 Campaign for Mayor

On October 23, 2024, Mamdani announced he was running for mayor of New York City. Some of his main ideas include:

• Making all city buses free to ride.
• Stopping rent from increasing in certain apartments.
• Opening city-owned grocery stores to make food cheaper.
• Creating a universal child care program.
• Building 200,000 new affordable homes.
• Raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030.
• Increasing taxes on large corporations and people who earn over $1 million per year.

Famous politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez supported his campaign. On June 24, 2025, Mamdani won the Democratic primary election, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo and other candidates. His victory was seen as a major surprise.

Facing Unfair Criticism

After winning the primary, some people made unfair comments about Mamdani because of his background, his religion, and where he was born. Many leaders and groups spoke out against these comments, calling them hurtful and wrong. They said that a person's background should not be used to attack them.

Political Ideas

Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist. This means he believes that the government and the public should have more control over the economy to make society fairer for everyone.

Community and Family Support

Mamdani supports universal child care for all families. He also wants to give "baby baskets" with supplies like diapers to families with newborn babies. He introduced a bill to make large private universities like New York University and Columbia University pay property taxes. He wants to use that money to better fund the City University of New York (CUNY) system.

Economy and Housing

Mamdani wants to control rent prices and build more public housing. He supports a plan to build 200,000 new affordable homes. He also supports raising the city's minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030. To help lower food costs, he has proposed a program for the city to run its own grocery stores.

Environment

Mamdani believes that fighting climate change is important for social justice. He has worked to prevent the building of new power plants that use fossil fuels. He also supports laws that require new buildings to use clean energy instead of gas. As a candidate for mayor, he proposed a "Green Schools" plan to put solar panels on school roofs and create more green spaces.

Foreign Policy Views

Mamdani is a strong critic of the Israeli government's actions in its conflict with the Palestinians. He supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which uses economic pressure to try to change Israel's policies. He has called for a ceasefire in the region and believes in protecting the rights of Palestinians. He has also criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his political party.

Other Social Issues

Mamdani supports stronger laws to protect immigrants and make New York a "sanctuary city." This means the city would limit its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. He also strongly supports LGBTQ+ rights and wants to make New York City a safe place for LGBTQ+ people. He supports protecting and expanding access to gender-affirming healthcare.

Personal Life

Mamdani is a citizen of both Uganda and the United States. He became a U.S. citizen in 2018. He is a Shia Muslim. In February 2025, he married Rama Duwaji, an animator. They live in Astoria, Queens.

He is a fan of the New York Mets baseball team and the New York Giants football team. He also supports the English soccer club Arsenal. Besides English, he can speak some Hindi-Urdu, Bengali, and Spanish.

Electoral History

New York State Assembly elections

New York City mayoral elections

See also

In Spanish: Zohran Mamdani para niños

• Indian Americans in New York City
• List of Democratic Socialists of America public officeholders
• Ugandan Americans