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NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Zohran Mamdani was a state lawmaker unknown even to most New York City residents when he announced his run for mayor back in October.

On Tuesday evening, the 33-year-old marked his stunning political ascension when he declared victory in the Democratic primary from a Queens rooftop bar after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded.

While the race鈥檚 ultimate outcome has yet to be confirmed by a ranked choice count scheduled for July 1, here鈥檚 a look at the one-time rapper seeking to become the city鈥檚 first Muslim and Indian American mayor, and its youngest mayor in generations.

Mamdani’s mother is a famous filmmaker

Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian parents and became an American citizen in 2018, shortly after graduating college.

He lived with his family briefly in Cape Town, South Africa, before moving to New York City when he was 7.

Mamdani鈥檚 mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning filmmaker whose credits include 鈥淢onsoon Wedding,鈥� 鈥淭he Namesake鈥� and 鈥淢ississippi Masala.鈥� His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University.

Mamdani married Rama Duwaji, a Syrian American artist, at the City Clerk鈥檚 Office. The couple live in the Astoria section of Queens.

Mamdani was once a fledgling rapper

Mamdani graduated in 2014 from Bowdoin College in Maine, where he earned a degree in Africana studies and co-founded his college鈥檚 Students for Justice in Palestine chapter.

After college, he worked as a foreclosure prevention counselor in Queens helping residents avoid eviction, the job he says to run for public office.

Mamdani also had a notable side hustle in the local hip hop scene, rapping under the moniker Young Cardamom and later Mr. Cardamom. During his first run for state lawmaker, Mamdani gave a nod to his brief foray into music, describing himself as a 鈥淏-list rapper.”

鈥淣ani,鈥� a song he made in 2019 to honor his grandmother, even found new life — and a vastly wider audience — as his mayoral campaign gained momentum.

Early political career

Mamdani cut his teeth in local politics working on campaigns for Democratic candidates in Queens and Brooklyn.

He was first elected to the New York Assembly in 2020, representing a Queens district covering Astoria and surrounding neighborhoods and has handily won reelection twice.

The Democratic Socialist鈥檚 most notable legislative accomplishment has so been pushing through a pilot program that made a handful of city buses free for a year. He’s also banning non-profits from 鈥渆ngaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.鈥�

Mamdani鈥檚 opponents, particularly Cuomo, have dismissed him as woefully unprepared for managing the complexities of running America鈥檚 largest city.

But Mamdani has framed his relative inexperience as a potential asset, saying in a mayoral debate he鈥檚 鈥減roud鈥� he doesn鈥檛 have Cuomo鈥檚 鈥渆xperience of corruption, scandal and disgrace.鈥�

Pro-Palestinian views

Mamdani鈥檚 outspoken support for Palestinian causes was a point of tension in the mayor鈥檚 race as Cuomo and other opponents sought to label his defiant criticism of Israel as antisemitic.

The Shia Muslim has called Israel鈥檚 military campaign in Gaza a 鈥済enocide鈥� and said the country should exist as 鈥渁 state with equal rights,鈥� rather than a 鈥淛ewish state.鈥� That message has resonated among pro-Palestinian residents, including the city鈥檚 roughly 800,000 adherents of Islam 鈥� the largest Muslim community in the country.

During an interview on CBS鈥檚 鈥淭he Late Show鈥� on the eve of the election, host Stephen Colbert asked Mamdani if he believed the state of Israel had the right to exist. He responded: 鈥淵es, like all nations, I believe it has a right to exist 鈥� and a responsibility also to uphold international law.鈥�

Mamdani’s refusal to condemn calls to 鈥済lobalize the intifada鈥� on a podcast 鈥� a common chant at pro-Palestinian protests 鈥� drew recriminations from Jewish groups and fellow candidates in the days leading up to the election.

In his victory speech Tuesday, he pledged to work closely with those who don鈥檛 share his views on controversial issues.

鈥淲hile I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments, grounded in a demand for equality, for humanity, for all those who walk this earth, you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree, and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements,鈥� Mamdani said.

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Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.

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