Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has pulled off a stunning political upset, running a successful primary campaign for New York City mayor on a platform of making the city more affordable for working people and families through major investments in the city’s social safety net.  

Three-term former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded to Mamdani in the Democratic primary Tuesday night, not even waiting for the tabulation of ranked-choice votes. Mamdani will be on the ballot in November, as will the embattled incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent. Cuomo, who resigned as governor amid sexual misconduct allegations, could run separately as well. 

Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist, ran on affordability and the cost of living for working-class New Yorkers and families. He put out social media videos highlighting everything from rising rent costs to “halalflation” at New York City’s halal carts, and anchored his campaign around a few signature policies, like rolling out free bus service, implementing universal child care, creating city-run grocery stores and freezing rents on rent-stabalized units. 

To fund many of his policies, he’s also proposing new taxes on the richest New Yorkers and raising taxes on corporations, drawing criticism from his opponents and others.  

“We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford,” Mamdani told supporters shortly after midnight Wednesday. “A city where they can do more than just struggle, one where those who toil in the night can enjoy the fruits of their labor in the day, where hard work is repaid with a stable life, where eight hours on the factory floor or behind the wheel of a cab is enough to pay the mortgage.”

Here are some of Mamdani’s key proposals: 

Child care and education: 

The cost of child care is rivaling housing costs as a major burden on families. Under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York rolled out universal early childhood education for 3-year-olds (3K) and pre-kindergarten (pre-K) for 4-year-olds. Mamdani wants to expand that to universal child care for children from 6 weeks to 5 years of age by opening new child care centers and raising wages for child care and early childhood education professionals. 

“The lack of universal child care has cost our city’s economy more than $20 billion in the last few years alone,” Mamdani said in a campaign video.  

Mamdani also proposes giving “baby baskets” to new parents in New York City, including information and resources on city resources for new parents and “items like diapers, baby wipes, nursing pads, post-partum pads, swaddles, and books,” a program he says he will address maternal mortality and bolster trust in government. 

On K-12 education, Mamdani says on his campaign website that he “will ensure our public schools are fully funded with equally distributed resources, strong after-school programs, mental health counselors and nurses, compliant and effective class sizes, and integrated student bodies.”

Housing:

Mamdani’s most notable housing proposal was freezing rents on rent-stabilized units, which are subject to city-approved rent increases and guarantee a right for tenants to renew their leases. Mamdani wants to build 200,000 new units of affordable housing in 10 years, increase enforcement for landlords who don’t provide safe and adequate conditions for tenants and create an office of Deed Theft Prevention to address deed theft scams, which have disproportionately affected homeowners in Black and Latinx neighborhoods. 

Taxes and labor:

Mamdani says he would back a law to increase New York City’s minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030. 

LGBTQ+ rights:

In 2024, New York voters approved a statewide constitutional equal rights amendment codifying abortion rights and broadly prohibiting gender-based discrimination. Mamdani wants to make New York City an “LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city” by expanding access to gender-affirming care through a $65 million investment in public providers, bolstering protections for LGBTQ+ people and creating an official office of LGBTQIA+ affairs within his administration.