New York
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, ending an extended holdout that was being closely watched.
“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 in a statement issued Friday, just before early voting begins in the mayoral race.
The top House Democrat had long set early voting as his self-imposed deadline to address the race. For months, he had been among several senior Democrats who had declined for months to back Mamdani after his surprise victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary in June.
Among the points of tension between the Mamdani and Jeffries camps was talk by democratic socialists of challenging Jeffries and other US House Democrats in primaries. A top Jeffries aide dismissed some of Mamdani’s allies as being for “Team Gentrification.”
“As with any Mayor, there will be areas of agreement and areas of principled disagreement. Yet, the stakes are existential,” Jeffries said in the statement. “Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have unleashed an unprecedented assault on the economy, ripped healthcare away from my constituents, weaponized the Department of Justice against our state’s Attorney General and ordered masked agents to callously target law-abiding immigrant families.”
Jeffries had signaled an endorsement was close in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, saying that he appreciated Mamdani’s recent commitment to keeping New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her job.
In a statement, Mamdani said he welcomed “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.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed the nominee last month, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also from Brooklyn, has still not offered his support.
Politico first reported Jeffries’ endorsement and The New York Times first reported Jeffries’ statement.
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