New York City has chosen its new mayor, and it’s polling favourite Zohran Mamdani!
The 34-year-old democratic socialist is set to become the city’s most liberal mayor in generations after taking home the win against former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Following his landslide victory, Mamdani – who is NYC’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage, and the first born in Africa – promised in his victory speech to usher in a new age of ‘relentless improvement’, adding: “Let the words we’ve spoken together, the dreams we’ve dreamt together, become the agenda we deliver together.
“New York, this power, it’s yours. This city belongs to you. Thank you.”
Mamdani’s voters rejoiced following the announcement, and many have also celebrated the arrival of New York’s brand-new First Lady, Rama Duwaji, who is also the first-ever Gen Z member to take on such a role.
Duwaji is a 28-year-old Syrian-American illustrator and animator. She was born to Syrian parents in Houston and lived both in the United States and the Persian Gulf while growing up.
CNN reports that her family lived in Texas before packing up and moving to Dubai when she was just nine years old.
In Qatar, Duwaji was a student of design at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Arts in 2019, having graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, before going on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York
Her work has been featured by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, BBC, Apple, Spotify, VICE, and the Tate Modern in London.
Duwaji has over 265k followers on Instagram, where she regularly shares her illustrations, many of which focus on pro-Palestinian messages, including depictions of Israeli violence, ethnic cleansing, and US complicity.
How did Mamdani and Duwaji meet?
Duwaji married Mamdani in a City Hall ceremony earlier this year in February, but the pair met several years ago on the dating app Hinge in 2021.
“So there is still hope in those dating apps,” Mamdani joked in an interview for The Bulwark back in June.
At this point, he had just been elected to the New York State Assembly.
When Mamdani made his historic win, he gave a special nod to Duwaji during his victory speech.
“To my incredible wife, Rama, hayati,” he said, using the Arabic word for ‘my life’. “There is no one I would rather have by my side in this moment, and in every moment.”
What are Duwaji’s plans?
While Duwaji hasn’t attended traditional campaign set pieces, she has been present during key moments and has advised behind the scenes on social media and campaign iconography.
Mamdani has previously addressed the criticism over his wife’s absence, writing on Instagram in May: “If you take a look at Twitter today, or any day for that matter, you know how vicious politics can be. I usually brush it off, whether it’s death threats or calls for me to be deported. But it’s different when it’s about those you love.
“Three months ago, I married the love of my life, Rama, at the City Clerk’s office. Now, right-wing trolls are trying to make this race—which should be about you—about her.
“Rama isn’t just my wife, she’s an incredible artist who deserves to be known on her own terms.
“You can critique my views, but not my family.”
At this point, it isn’t clear what, if any, official role Duwaji will have now that Mamdani has been elected mayor.