New York (AP) – When he announced his race for the mayor in October, Zohran Mamdani was a legislator of the unknown state of most New York residents.
Tuesday evening, the 33 -year -old man marked his superb political ascent when he declared the victory in the democratic primary of a bar on the roof of Queens after the former governor of New York Andrew Cuomo conceded.
Live results: Breed of the mayor of New York Primary Democratic
Although the ultimate result of the race has not yet been confirmed by an account of choice classified scheduled for July 1, here is a preview of the single rapper who seeks to become the first Muslim and Indian mayor of the city and his younger mayor in generations.
Mamdani’s mother is a famous filmmaker
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, Indian parents and became an American citizen in 2018, shortly after graduating.
He lived briefly with his family in Cape Town, in South Africa, before moving to New York at the age of 7.
Mamdani’s mother Mira Nair is a award -winning filmmaker whose credits include “Monsoon Wedding”, “The Homony” and “Mississippi Masala”. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a professor of anthropology at Columbia University.
Mamdani married Rama Dawaji, an American Syrian artist, earlier this year. The couple, who met on the hinge of the meeting application, lives in the Astoria des Queens section.
Mamdani was once an emerging rapper
Mamdani attended the Bronx High School of Science, where he co -founded the first public school cricket team, according to his legislative biography.
In 2014, he graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine, where he graduated in African studies and co -founded the students of his college for justice in Palestine.
After the college, he worked as an advisor to prevention of preview in Queens to help residents avoid expulsion, the work which, according to him, inspired him to present himself for a public service.
WATCH: How expulsions and instability of housing can have fatal consequences
Mamdani also had a notable jostling in the local hip hop scene, bringing up under the nickname Young Cardamom and later Mr. Cardamom. During his first round for the state legislator, Mamdani made a sign of the brief foray into music, describing himself as a “rapper B”.
“Nani”, a song he made in 2019 to honor his grandmother, even found a new life – and an audience largely wider – while his mayor campaign has grown. His criticisms, on the other hand, seized words of “Salaam”, his ode 2017 to be Muslim in New York, to say that his opinions are too extreme for New Yorkers.
Early political career
Mamdani cut his teeth in local politics working on campaigns for Democratic candidates in Queens and Brooklyn.
He was elected for the first time at the New York Assembly in 2020, overthrowing a long -standing democrat holder for a district of Queens covering Astoria and the surrounding districts. He easily won the re -election twice.
The most notable legislative fulfillment of the Democratic socialist has gone through a pilot program that has made a handful of city buses for a year. He also proposed legislation prohibiting non -profit organizations from “engaging in unauthorized support for the Israeli regulation activity”.
The opponents of Mamdani, in particular Cuomo, rejected him as terribly unprepared for the management of complexities in the management of the largest American city.
But Mamdani framed his relative inexperience as a potential active, claiming that in a debate by the mayor, he is “proud” that he does not have “the experience of corruption, scandal and shame” of Cuomo.
Viral campaign videos
Mamdani has used Buzzy campaign videos – a lot with references to Bollywood and its Indian inheritance – to help make breakthroughs with voters outside of its queen slice.
On New York day, he participated in annual polar dive in cold waters off Coney Island in a complete costume to break his plan to “freeze” the rents.
While the race entered the last section, Mamdani has traveled the length of Manhattan, documenting the trip of around 13 miles (21 kilometers) by publishing photos and videos of its interactions along the way.
In Tiktok’s videos, he even called on colored voters by speaking in Spanish, Bangla and other languages.
Progressive promises
Mamdani offered a more optimistic vision, unlike candidates like Cuomo, who have largely focused on crime and public issues.
His campaign was filled with major promises to reduce the cost of living for everyday New Yorkers, free daycare services, free buses, rent freezing for people living in apartments regulated by rent and new affordable dwellings – a large part by increasing taxes on the rich.
The big promises have, unsurprisingly, attacked the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
Mamdani obtained the mentions of two of the country’s main progressives, the American representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from New York, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Pro-Palestinian views
Mamdani’s frank support for Palestinian causes was a point of tension in the mayor’s breed while Cuomo and other opponents have sought to label his provocative criticism in Israel as anti -Semitic.
The Muslim Chiity called Israel military campaign in Gaza A “genocide” and said that the country should exist as “a state with equal rights” rather than a “Jewish state”. This message resonated among pro -Palestinian residents, including around 800,000 members of the city Islam – the largest Muslim community in the country.
During an interview on CBS “The Late Show” on the eve of the elections, animator Stephen Colbert asked Mamdani if he thought that the State of Israel had the right to exist. He replied: “Yes, like all nations, I believe that it has the right to exist – and the responsibility of also respecting international law.”
Mamdani’s refusal to condemn calls to “globalize intifada” on a podcast – a common song during pro -Palestinian demonstrations – attracted the recriminations of Jewish groups and candidate colleagues in the days preceding the elections.
In his victory speech on Tuesday, he undertook to work closely with those who do not share his opinions on controversial issues.
“Although I do not give up my beliefs or my commitments, based on a request for equality, for humanity, for all those who walk on this land, you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I do not agree and to fight deeply with these disagreements,” said Mamdani.
The editors of the Associated Press Jake Offenhartz and Anthony Izaguirre in New York contributed to this report.