As Obama was, Mamdani is a conventional-wisdom long shot who has risen up against a racial-ethnic glass ceiling. A gregarious and jovial 33-year-old state Assembly member and self-declared democratic socialist, Mamdani also may be the first major candidate to include “rapper” on his resume.

Mamdani won the Democratic primary, NBC News projects, and will face the incumbent, Eric Adams, in the general election. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo may keep running, too.