An outspoken democratic socialist who has become the leading candidate in New York City’s mayoral race comes from an unexpected background: a family renowned for their contributions to filmmaking and academia.

Zohran Mamdani, 33, is in a close contest with former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to secure the Democratic primary nomination in NYC. 

Originally from Uganda, Mamdani relocated to the US at the age of seven and is the offspring of filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University Professor Mahmood Mamdani.

Nair gained widespread recognition with her 1991 romantic film ‘Mississippi Masala’, featuring Denzel Washington, while Mahmood is a colonial studies professor at the liberal arts college in the city.

The progressive wing of the Democrat has coalesced around the socialist, who would be New York’s first Muslim mayor if elected.

He has gained momentum by running a campaign focused on the city’s high cost of living. 

His campaign has pushed populist ideas like free public buses, rent freezes for rent-stabilized apartments, and grocery stores that would be owned by the city. 

Relatively unknown when the contest began, he has secured endorsements from progressives including Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

Outside of politics, the likes of Emily Ratajkowski and Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang have thrown their weight behind Mamdani. 

On Tuesday morning as polls opened around the city, Ratajkowski shared a video of herself endorsing Mamdani, while wearing a ‘Hot Girls for Zohran’ t-shirt. 

Flanked by the man himself, she said: ‘This election is gonna be decided by young voters. The average New Yorker is 38 years old. 

‘The last mayoral race was decided by 7,000 voters. That means that your vote really matters. Go ahead, get out there, we know it’s hot, but the time is now.’

His sharp campaign has made full use of social media, with videos of him interviewing Trump voters going viral. 

An army of young hipster canvassers have relentlessly knocked on doors throughout the city seeking support, while his grinning mug has been plastered across the city. 

Appearing on a podcast earlier this month, Mamdani also revealed that he and his wife, artist Rama Duwaji, had met on dating app Hinge. 

The State assemblyman said: ‘I found my wife on Hinge. So (dating apps) still work. Just to let people know.

It’s not all roses. In a city torn over Israel’s campaign against Hamas following the October 7 attacks, he has been called to show support Israel’s right to exist. 

His pro-Palestinian stance has sparked outrage amongst the Jewish communities, which make up a large portion of the city. 

On Monday night he appeared alongside fellow candidate Brad Lander on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’, and was questioned over his stance. 

He and Lander – New York’s comptroller – have endorsed each other in hopes of ‘sending Cuomo back to the suburbs,’ Mamdani told Colbert. 

Colbert pushed him on his refusal to condemn calls to ‘globalize the intifada’, adding: ‘they are afraid that your mayorship would actually lead to increased antisemitism.’

The question teed up Mamdani to denounce antisemitism while not addressing his past statements, which have included calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ that some say is a call to violence against Jews.

When asked during a podcast interview last week if the phrase made him uncomfortable, Mamdani merely said it captured ‘a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.’

During the interview, Colbert, 61, asked Mamdani and Lander about Israel and whether they believe it ‘has the right to exist.’

‘Yes, like all nations. I believe it has a right to exist, and a responsibility also to uphold international law,’ Mamdani said.

Mamdani has previously said he hopes Palestinians gain political agency peacefully and that his criticism of the Israeli government is not equivalent to antisemitism. 

After the podcast appearance, Jewish leaders including Rep. Daniel Goldman and the Anti-Defamation League criticized Mamdani for his remarks. 

The Holocaust Museum in Washington DC even weighed in, calling his comments both ‘outrageous and especially offensive’.

As he has surged in the polls and popularity, clips of him calling for the New York Police Department to be removed from high crime areas in the city have resurfaced.

In one video, he says: ‘I think we need to ask ourselves, look at how the policing is done in the suburbs. 

‘When people make mistakes, the answer is not to throw them in jail. The answer is to find a non-carceral solution.

‘For many people, especially Black people, they are not offered the same opportunity.’ 

Cuomo, who resigned from his position as governor in disgrace over sexual harassment allegations, has cast Mamdani as being unqualified for the role.

He believes Mamdani doesn’t have the management chops to wrangle the city’s sprawling bureaucracy or handle crises. 

In response, Mamdani has slammed Cuomo over the scandal that forced him to resign and his mishandling of the pandemic. 

Cuomo stood down in 2021 after a report by the state attorney general concluded he had sexually harassed at least 11 women. 

He has always maintained that he didn’t intentionally harass the women, saying he had simply fallen behind what was considered appropriate workplace conduct. 

Preliminary returns will be released after the polls close at 9 p.m. Tuesday, a winner might not emerge for a week because of the city’s ranked choice voting system. 

The system allows voters to list up to five candidates in order of preference. If a candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters, they win outright. 

If no candidate reaches that threshold, the tabulation of the rankings wouldn´t begin until July 1.

The primary winner will go on to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who decided to run as an independent amid a public uproar over his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent abandonment of the case by Trump’s Justice Department.