Zohran Mamdani is on a generational run.
Over the last few months, the 34-year-old has won over New York City’s heart—so much so that his supporters have coined a new term for their city: Mamdanistan.
In a new interview with Hopeless Romantic Society, Mamdani was asked how he feels about the nickname, to which he said, with a laugh, “I think it's up to people what they want to call it. The legal name is New York City.”
The phrase fuses Mamdani's last name with the Persian suffix -stan, meaning "land or place of," to describe a progressive New York.
Advocates embraced the sobriquet following Mamdani’s historic win as New York City's 112th mayor last November. He won the race with just over 50 percent of the vote, with voter turnout surpassing two million—the highest since 1969. He received over 999,000 votes, securing a win against Republican Curtis Sliwa and former governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent.
Mamdani also became New York City's first Muslim and African-born mayor, and is the youngest person to hold the office in over a century.
In the months since Mamdani took office, his advocates have celebrated him for multiple reasons, including cleaning up the city streets after a huge snowstorm in February and for bigger cultural moments, like the New York Knicks winning the NBA Finals.
Check out some more videos of supporters celebrating Mamdanistan below.
