October 25, 2025
After months of hypothesis, the Home Democratic chief throws his assist behind Mamdani, urging the occasion to unite towards Trump’s affect.
Home Democratic chief Hakeem Jeffries, who represents New York’s eighth congressional district, has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York Metropolis mayor, marking a pivotal second in a race that has divided Democrats and examined occasion unity.
Jeffries, one of many metropolis’s most influential Black political figures, has typically been vital of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani is a member. But in a press release to The New York Instances, Jeffries mentioned that whereas the 2 have “areas of principled disagreement,” Mamdani earned his place because the nominee by a “free and honest” major.
“Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly centered on addressing the affordability disaster and explicitly dedicated to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, together with those that don’t assist his candidacy,” Jeffries mentioned.
“In that spirit, I assist him and all the citywide Democratic ticket within the common election.”
The endorsement, introduced simply earlier than early voting begins, follows weeks of inside debate. Sources near Jeffries mentioned he delayed his choice because of the ongoing authorities shutdown. His backing represents one other main win for Mamdani, who has lately secured endorsements from Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Meeting Speaker Carl Heastie.
For Jeffries, the choice balances competing pressures from inside his occasion. Some Democrats view Mamdani’s rise as proof that progressive power can carry elections, whereas others fear his insurance policies will develop into fodder for Republican assaults within the upcoming midterms.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, welcomed the endorsement as validation of his marketing campaign’s mission “to show the web page on the politics of massive cash and small concepts.”
Jeffries’s choice additionally undercuts former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who’s operating as a third-party candidate after dropping the Democratic major. Cuomo’s workforce reportedly tried to steer Jeffries to withhold his endorsement, however these efforts had been unsuccessful.
In current weeks, Mamdani has sought to average his picture, apologizing for previous remarks concerning the police and clarifying his stance on Israel. He additionally pledged to retain Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch if elected — a transfer Jeffries praised as “the method that this second requires.”
“Assemblyman Mamdani has promised to concentrate on preserving each New Yorker protected, together with the Jewish neighborhood that has confronted a startling rise in antisemitic incidents in addition to Black and Latino neighborhoods which have battled lethal gun violence for years,” Jeffries mentioned.
With polls exhibiting Mamdani main as Election Day nears, Jeffries’s endorsement might sign a broader shift: a Democratic institution keen, a minimum of for now, to embrace the occasion’s left wing within the identify of unity.
Nevertheless, Mamdani’s reputation has sparked adversity.
New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged that he plans to endorse former NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo within the metropolis’s mayoral race, marking a shocking reconciliation after months of public hostility.
Adams, who ended his personal re-election bid final month, had beforehand referred to as Cuomo “a snake and a liar” for urging him to withdraw. The 2 appeared to have patched issues up on Oct 22, sitting courtside collectively on the Knicks’ season opener.
Adams reveals that he intends to marketing campaign with Cuomo in his strongest neighborhoods to assist the previous governor counter Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani’s rising momentum.
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