New York: Zohran Mamdani and two other Indian Americans made significant gains US local elections across New York, Virginia, and Ohio on Tuesday.
Zohran Kwame Mamdani emerged victorious in New York City’s mayoral race, becoming the first Muslim, first Indian-origin, and first African-born mayor of the city. The all three candidates of Indian descent played prominent roles in Democratic wins, at a time marked by heightened anti-Indian sentiment and H-1B visa concerns.
Mamdani, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an Ugandan born author of Indian ancestry, upset former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary and was declared the winner in June this year. His rise marked the success of a candidate previously unknown to many.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, moved to South Africa and then New York City at age seven and became an American citizen in 2018. Earlier this year, he married Syrian-American artist Rama Duwaji and will take office on January 1.
Ghazala Hashmi won the Virginia Lieutenant Governor post, adding to her distinction as the first Muslim and first South Asian American to serve in the Virginia Senate. Hashmi’s Senate seat will now be filled through a special election. She first entered politics in 2019, flipping a Republican-held state Senate seat, and in 2024 became chair of the Senate Education and Health Committee, overseeing priorities like reproductive freedom and public education.
Hashmi, born in 1964 in Hyderabad, India, with ancestral roots in Karachi, moved to the US at age four, was raised in Georgia, and holds a BA from Georgia Southern University and a PhD from Emory University.
Indian-origin Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval secured a second term, defeating Republican Cory Bowman, half of Vice President JD Vans. Pureval, 43, first made history in 2021 as Cincinnati’s first Asian American mayor.
Although officially a non-partisan office, he is broadly aligned with the Democratic Party. His mother, a Tibetan refugee, escaped Chinese occupation and grew up in southern India, while his father is Punjabi. Pureval entered politics in 2015 with a bid for Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, gradually building a political career.
