Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ last-minute endorsement of Zohran Mamdani marked the latest move to consolidate Democratic support behind the party’s New York City mayoral nominee — but Republicans wasted no time warning that it could backfire in 2026.
Jeffries, the House Democratic leader from Brooklyn, made his long-awaited endorsement in a written statement Friday afternoon that said he supports the citywide Democratic ticket while acknowledging he and Mamdani have “areas of principled disagreement.”
His backing drew criticism from Republican House members eager to tie their Democratic rivals to Mamdani’s socialist policies. But it is unlikely to have a major effect on city voters who start early voting on Saturday. Mamdani won a commanding primary victory in June over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is still running as an independent in the general election.
In his statement, Jeffries focused on Mamdani’s heavy focus on issues related to affordability, which helped propel him to victory in the June primary.
“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 said.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican in a competitive Hudson Valley district, wasted little time in challenging Democratic members of Congress to renounce it.
“Do you stand with Jeffries, Hochul and Mamdani, or with the hardworking New Yorkers who want safe streets, affordable communities and sanity back in government?” Lawler tweeted. “There’s no hiding on this one.”
The endorsement came a day before the start of the early voting period in the mayoral race, with Mamdani — a democratic socialist who won the Democratic nomination in the June primary — facing off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
Jeffries’ endorsement is unlikely to have a dramatic effect on the results of the mayor’s race since it is coming so late in the campaign. But Basil Smikle, a Columbia University lecturer and former executive director of the state Democratic Party, said Jeffries’ endorsement serves as a sign to older, more moderate Democrats who have traditionally backed establishment candidates that it’s OK to cast their ballot for Mamdani.
Jeffries is the latest Democratic establishment figure to get behind Mamdani, following Gov. Kathy Hochul last month and state Attorney General Letitia James in June.
“ If there were people who were inclined to vote for Mamdani but had had some doubts, I do think it will add some votes to his ultimate total,” Smikle said.
In a statement, Mamdani said Jeffries’ endorsement speaks to the strength of his campaign.
“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 said.
Another Brooklyn Democrat on the national stage — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — has not yet made an endorsement in the race. Schumer’s spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the senator intends to do so. Neither did a spokesperson for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who also has not made an endorsement.
Democrats are locked in a pitched battle with Republicans for control of the U.S. House of Representatives, where the GOP currently has a razor-thin majority.
Republicans have already been linking Mamdani to Democratic candidates in New York and across the nation — particularly in toss-up districts that could swing either way in next year’s House elections. In a post on his social media network last month, President Donald Trump said Mamdani would “prove to be one of the best things to ever happen to our great Republican Party.”
Mamdani’s primary win exposed a significant rift between the Democratic Party’s left flank and center. He relied on endorsements from left-leaning figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and an army of left-leaning volunteers, but moderate figures within the party were hesitant to embrace his platform of free buses, universal child care and freezing rent prices in rent-stabilized apartments.
In the New York City suburbs, Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat in a marginal district that includes parts of Nassau County and Queens, has repeatedly distanced himself from Mamdani and warned his candidacy could be damaging to the Democratic Party. The same can be said of fellow Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen of Long Island, who has called Mamdani “absolutely wrong for NY.”
Hochul’s endorsement of Mamdani, meanwhile, drew criticism from Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from northern New York who is eyeing a run against the Democratic governor next year.
Jeffries spent months fending off questions about whom he would endorse in the mayor’s race, including in recent weeks as he found himself in the middle of a battle with Republicans over the ongoing federal shutdown.
The New York Times was first to report Jeffries’ statement. He had promised to weigh in prior to the start of early voting, which runs from Saturday through Nov. 2.
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