Explore the astonishing ascent of Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist and Muslim, who transformed from a political unknown to the overwhelming favorite for NYC Mayor in just one year, overcoming a campaign mired in racism and Islamophobia.
A year ago, Zohran Mamdani was a political nobody. On Tuesday, as New Yorkers head to the polls, he is the overwhelming favourite to become the city’s next mayor. Guardian US writer Adam Gabbatt charts his rise from his radical campaign promises to his savvy social media videos, and explores how this most unlikely of candidates – a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, Muslim, born outside the US – has propelled himself to the summit of the city’s politics. It has not, as he explains to Nosheen Iqbal, been an easy ride, with a mayoral race mired in racism and Islamophobia. In the past few weeks, his rival Andrew Cuomo agreed with a radio host that Mamdani would celebrate “another 9/11” if it happened on his watch. Guardian columnist Mehdi Hasan discusses how Mamdani has managed to transcend it all, and whether he shows the beleaguered Democrats a path forward in how to start resisting Donald Trump. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
