Zohran Mamdani has stood against the rise of the populist right in the United States, campaigning for the mayorship of New York City as a self-described democratic-socialist while swathes of the country appear to move in the opposite direction.
Whether his approach still resonates in the Big Apple in 2025 will be decided on Tuesday as voters choose between Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
A victory for Mamdani, 34, would give the city its youngest mayor in generations. He would be the cityâs first Muslim mayor. And he would be a thorn in the side of president Donald Trump, who has threatened to take over the city if Mamdani wins.
Mamdaniâs brand, itself a kind of leftwing economic populism, has focused on lowering the cost of living for squeezed New Yorkers, making city buses free, freezing rent for many, offering universal childcare and funding it with taxes on the rich.
Polls suggest that his message has resonated with Democrats and independents. But his critics warn a win could result in a wealth drain from the city. Critics, supporters and apparent neutrals have pointed to London and its left-leaning mayor as an indication of where things could go.
Londonâs mayor, Sadiq Khan, does share some similarities with Mamdani. Khan is a member of the broadly left-wing Labour party, though he sits closer to the centre than Mamdani. Both are Muslim and the sons of immigrants to their respective countries. Both have upset Trump. And both have sought to address the concerns of average voters around rising rents, the unaffordability of houses, and wage stagnation.
Both also have relatively similar ideological solutions. Both see their cityâs diversity, liberal core and strong work ethic as a bulwark against the tide of nationalistic and isolationist rhetoric that is pervasive in modern politics.
Khan, asked about Mamdani by Bloomberg Television in an interview published on Monday, said that the reason some people hate London and New York is that âwe are progressive cities, we are liberal cities, we are multicultural cities, and weâre incredibly successfulâ.
London does have challenges with growth, productivity and a housing crisis. Like New York, it has also avoided some of the concerns around deindustrialisation, lack of opportunity and demographic change fueling the populist right elsewhere. Khan and Mamdani – not the âcommunistâ Trump says he is – can approach the needs of the electorate with reform instead of revolution.
Mamdani is certainly not a communist, but he could be more radical than Khan. Where Khan has frozen TfL fares for Londoners, Mamdani would do away with bus fares altogether. Khan continues to push for rent caps in the city, while in theory Mamdani could make it happen.
In multicultural societies, Khan and Mamdani are proud of their faith. Mamdani has spoken about his Muslim identity through his campaign. He has also spoken about the horrific Islamophobic messages he has received, and has faced intense criticism from pro-Israeli Jews over his stance on the war in Gaza. Both he and Khan have faced accusations of anti-Semitism. Both have made a commitment to serve all constituents, and celebrate difference in the cities they love.
Uma Kumuran, an MP who campaigned for Khan the first time around, told the New York Times that âbeing the son of a bus driver was probably more prominent during the campaign than him being Muslim or being the son of Pakistani immigrantsâ.
Mamdani is, by contrast, the son of a university professor and a filmmaker, which he has been honest about. But he also has the benefit of being more âin touchâ than his peers, a product of the NYC Public School system who went on to help low-income homeowners of colour fight off eviction before running for office.
London and New York are different cities, and Khan and Mamdani are different people. It is impossible to extrapolate from Londonâs story where New Yorkâs could go next. But both politicians do have in common a shared faith in their city, its values and the people who choose to live there.
