When photojournalist Jack Califano first reached out to Zohran Mamdani's campaign in March, the candidate was polling at just 8 percent and barely registering as a blip on the political radar. But Califano sensed something shifting beneath the surface and asked to follow the campaign for a long-term documentary project. Nine months later, Mamdani had accomplished what almost no one thought possible: defeating Andrew Cuomo by a wide margin to become New York City's 111th mayor and its first Muslim and South Asian leader.

Califano's journey with the Mamdani campaign began at a Democratic Socialists of America event in Brooklyn Heights. After taking some pictures, he reached out through mutual connections to Andrew Epstein, the campaign's communications director at the time, proposing an extensive behind-the-scenes documentation project. "I really wanted to do a behind-the-scenes look you can't get from an assignment," Califano explained in a recent interview. "I knew that if I wanted my work to stand out, I had to dedicate an extensive amount of time to get a view of the campaign that no one else was going to have."

The photographer's first real glimpse of Mamdani came during Ramadan at an iftar in a Bangladeshi community center basement in Flatbush. The gathering was intimate and grassroots, with about 20 community members and their children sharing a meal. When Mamdani arrived, it felt more like a family dinner than a campaign event. "There was this real sense of ease, like he was hanging out with old friends," Califano recalled. "None of the celebrity energy you see now."

Over the following months, Califano burned through more than 100 rolls of film documenting the campaign's breakneck pace. He found himself hopping on Citi Bikes to chase Mamdani across boroughs, from union rallies to neighborhood canvassing sessions to multiple iftar events in a single night. The photographer often struggled to keep up as Mamdani moved with remarkable speed through Queens streets packed with Muslims celebrating Chaand Raat, the post-Ramadan street festival.

One particularly memorable night occurred during the Eid street festival in Queens, where both Califano and the author first crossed paths while chasing Mamdani through crowds near King of Falafel. It was nearly midnight, and Mamdani was gliding between stalls and bodegas, engaging with the city's Muslim community with his signature mix of warmth and urgency. Califano captured a photo that night that would later run on New York magazine's homepage when Mamdani won: the candidate moving through a blurry New York nightscape with a smile on his face, a halal cart visible in the background.

"That was one of the most special nights of the campaign," Califano reflected. "Something that's been so striking to observers is how deeply a character of New York Zohran is, and how comfortable he is moving through the city and being himself around every kind of person." The photographer noted that such candid moments would become impossible once Mamdani gained prominence, as he now travels with dozens of reporters wherever he goes.

The turning point in Califano's perception of the campaign's viability came three to four weeks before the primary, when a poll showed Mamdani within 8 or 9 points of Andrew Cuomo. At an "Artists for Zohran" event on the Lower East Side, the atmosphere shifted as people began whispering, "Holy shit, he might actually win." Even then, Califano admitted, "It was always possible, but it never felt inevitable. Honestly, anyone who says they knew he would win is probably lying."

Throughout his documentation, Califano observed Mamdani's remarkable consistency across diverse environments. From DSA meetings to mosque basements to street festivals, the candidate remained authentically himself. "Zohran reminds me a lot of Bernie Sanders in that he's the same Zohran no matter where you see him or where he goes," the photographer noted. "His great strength is that because he believes so firmly in his politics, and because he's so unapologetic, he doesn't need to adjust his personality to any great degree."

One image stands out most vividly in Califano's memory: a quiet moment backstage at Terminal 5 before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement rally. Hidden behind a curtain on a small balcony, Mamdani received a flower from a volunteer and spontaneously gave it to his wife, Rama. The couple shared an intimate moment looking out at the crowd that had gathered, reflecting on how dramatically their lives had changed from when Mamdani was polling at just 1 percent. "There was a real sense of awe, from both of them, about the movement that had grown up around him," Califano observed.

The photographer also witnessed the darker side of the campaign, including the wave of Islamophobic attacks and fearmongering in the press, with headlines calling Mamdani a terrorist sympathizer. "The discourse around his candidacy, and particularly the Islamophobia in the press, has been grotesque to watch," Califano said. "I think it's obvious to anyone who meets Zohran for more than 10 seconds that the caricature portrayed by his opponents in no way reflects the person he is."

Election night at the Brooklyn Paramount was electric, with Califano covering the historic victory party on assignment for Vanity Fair. "What struck me most that night was how many people there couldn't quite believe what was happening," he recalled. "His movement is made up of people who don't often win. To be in a room full of so many New Yorkers, from so many different backgrounds and experiences, celebrating what for many felt like their first real taste of political power in this city, the atmosphere was electric."

Mamdani's victory was built on a new coalition of working-class Black, Latino, and South Asian voters in the outer boroughs, alongside young progressives across Brooklyn and northern Manhattan. The campaign successfully flipped neighborhoods that had once been Cuomo strongholds, demonstrating the power of grassroots organizing and authentic political messaging.

Looking ahead, Califano is considering various options for his extensive body of work, including potentially publishing a book. "If there's a publisher reading this who's interested in making a book, I'm very open-minded," he said with a laugh. The photographer plans to continue documenting Mamdani's political rise as mayor while pursuing his broader interest in American politics during this unique moment in history. His nine-month embedded experience with the campaign represents a rare intimate portrait of a historic political movement that few believed could succeed.