Meet Mayor Mamdani

Theodore Hamm is the author of Bernie’s Brooklyn: How Growing Up in the New Deal City Shaped Bernie Sanders’ Politics. He wrote about the 2025 race for The Indypendent  and Drop Site, and his articles about New York City politics have also appeared in Jacobin. Hamm is chair of journalism at St. Joseph’s University in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

“Hamm knows his (greater) New York and the world of the Left, within and beyond.”—Paul Buhle and Jay Schaffner“Mamdani is the single most important figure in current U.S. politics and this book very effectively captures why. A joy to read.”—Robert ScheerPRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION:“An energizing jolt of hope. The inside story of how it happened and what it took to win, so that other people in other places can take inspiration.”—Astra Taylor, author of Remake the World and co-founder, Debt Collective“Like Mamdani, Hamm ignored the conventional wisdom set by political consultants and legacy media — and reported from the ground on a movement that is reshaping American politics. In the process, Hamm reminds us that the best journalism is fearless, compassionate, and uncompromising.”—Mohamad Bazzi, director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies and professor of journalism at NYU“Zohran is the future and Hamm knows why. If you want in on the secret—and who wouldn’t?—of how a 33-year-old, pro-Palestinian, avowedly Muslim, democratic socialist will become the mayor of the largest city in the USA (inshallah!), read this poppin’ book by one of New York’s sharpest political journalists. And read it now.”—Moustafa Bayoumi “Trenchant advocacy journalism at its finest.” —Mark Jacobson“A fascinating and important read.”—Lindsey Boylan“An informative, adulatory look at a grassroots candidacy galvanizing young voters and reshaping urban politics.”—Kirkus Reviews“Hamm mixes Jimmy Breslin's gritty details with Pete Hamill's big-picture prose. No matter what happens in November and beyond, Run Zohran Run! will remain an indispensable window into what America's political future might be.”—Greg Grandin“With a storyteller's ease, Hamm chronicles Zohran Mamdani's canny and humane spirit and style. If you want to understand the Mamdani phenomenon and maybe replicate it, this is the book for you.” —Alejandro Varela“Not a campaign diary. Not another politician’s memoir. A record of a kid chased by history—Uganda, 9/11, ICE at the airport—who decided to run straight into politics anyway.”—Migrant Insider