Rep. Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor on Friday, ending a months-long wait to get behind the Democratic nominee.
Citing the need for unity against President Trump, Jeffries said he will vote for Mamdani in the Nov. 4 general election in which he’s vying against Republican Curtis Sliwa and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
“Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries wrote in a statement first reported by the New York Times.
“In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election,” Jeffries said, adding that he maintains “areas of principled disagreement.” with Mamdani.
Jeffries, who represents a central Brooklyn congressional district, did not appear in person to deliver the endorsement.
The endorsement, which was released after lunchtime as the Capitol emptied out on Friday afternoon, fulfills Jeffries’ longstanding vow to make his feelings known before early voting starts Saturday.
Mamdani responded in a statement of his own Friday, saying, “I welcome Leader Jeffries’ support and look forward to delivering a city government, and building a Democratic Party, relentlessly committed to our affordability agenda — and to fighting Trump’s authoritarianism.”
He added: “Our movement to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas grows stronger by the day,” he added.
Republicans wasted no time trashing the endorsement as evidence that Democrats have swung too far to the left.
“(Jeffries) just threw his lot in with an openly Communist, anti-Semitic, defund-the-police, globalize-the-intifada extremist. state GOP chair Ed Cox said in a statement.
Mamdani sparred this week with Cuomo and Sliwa in the final debate. Mayor Adams, who pulled the plug on his own sputtering reelection campaign, backed Cuomo, citing the need to block Mamdani from winning Gracie Mansion.
Mamdani was always favored to win Jeffries’ nod after he trounced Cuomo in the June primary, even though the two men represent very different wings of the Democratic Party.
A fresh-faced self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, Mamdani has electrified young people with a message of progressive change and making the city more affordable. He is a harsh critic of Israel and the war in Gaza.
Jeffries on the other hand has molded himself as the ultimate party insider and hopes to become Speaker of the House if Democrats can retake the House of Representatives in next year’s midterm election.
That post requires him to consider how stances like Mamdani’s will play in moderate and swing suburban and heartland districts far from the five boroughs. Jeffries has also framed himself as one of the staunchest supporters of the Jewish state in Congress, even as many of his fellow Democrats have grown critical of Israel as the bloody conflict has stretched on for more than two years.
Mamdani decisively beat Cuomo, who courted older Black voters, in the primary in Jeffries’ Bedford-Stuyvesant-based district, fueling some whispers that the rivalry could lead to a primary challenge to Jeffries.
The belated endorsement caps a mostly successful effort by Mamdani to get New York’s Democratic power brokers to line up behind his Gracie Mansion bid.
Most establishment Democratic elected officials who supported Cuomo in the primary quickly shifted to support Mamdani after his convincing primary win and stuck with him even after Cuomo announced plans to run as an independent.
Gov. Hochul, a moderate who is seeking to shore up her left flank ahead of a reelection bid next year, recently endorsed Mamdani.
Sen. Chuck Schumer has taken a similar stance to Jeffries, emphasizing common ground with Mamdani without issuing a formal endorsement.
A spokesman for Schumer did not respond to questions about his plans for a possible endorsement.
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