House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday endorsed the Democratic nominee in the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani.
"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, D-N.Y., said in a statement on Friday. "In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election."
Jeffries also predicted, "as with any Mayor, there will be areas of agreement and areas of principled disagreement," but added that "the stakes are existential," amid an ongoing Trump administration.
In a statement after the endorsement, Mamdani said, "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."
"Our movement to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas grows stronger by the day," he added.
The endorsement comes after Jeffries had dodged questions about whether he’d endorse Mamdani since the state assemblyman surprised his party in June when he won the Democratic nomination for mayor outright, beating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo has since launched an independent campaign for mayor, hoping to beat Mamdani and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in next month’s general election.
Jeffries, for months, demurred when asked why he hadn’t endorsed a candidate in the general election for mayor.
Earlier this week, on Sunday, Jeffries told ABC News’ “This Week” that he and Mamdani have had some “good conversations” since the primary but declined to formally endorse him.
“We’ve had very good conversations over the last few months in advance of the government shutting down that were forward-looking, that were community-based, that were focused on, in particular, his efforts to make New York City more affordable,” Jeffries told ABC News. “That’s the right issue to focus on. It’s why he decisively won the primary. And I look forward to continuing that conversation next week.”
On Friday, in the U.S. Capitol, Jeffries disputed the characterization that he’s “refused to endorse” anyone in the race.
“I have not refused to endorse. I have refused to articulate my position, and I will momentarily, at some point in advance of early voting,” Jeffries told reporters, one day before early voting begins in the five boroughs.
In June, just after Mamdani won the primary, Jeffries told ABC News that he wasn’t yet ready to endorse Mamdani, adding, “We don’t really know each other well.”
At the time, Jeffries also addressed concerns about criticism Mamdani had received from some members of New York’s Jewish community over his support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and his decision not to condemn the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” which some Jewish leaders called antisemitic.
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” Jeffries told ABC News at the time.
After he won the primary, Mamdani still declined to condemn the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that mayors shouldn’t “police speech.” But The New York Times later reported that Mamdani told business leaders he would “discourage” use of the phrase.
Other Democratic leaders were also slow to endorse Mamdani.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., still has not endorsed the Democratic nominee for mayor. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul did so in September, after months of deliberation.
In a New York Times guest essay detailing her endorsement, Hochul emphasized that she and Mamdani agree that affordability should be the priority for New York City’s next mayor.
She also wrote, “I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements,” and added, “We discussed the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally.”
Democratic leaders, including those who have endorsed Mamdani and those who have not, have commended the Democratic nominee for running a primary and general election campaign focused on the issue of affordability.
Mamdani’s key campaign promises include a plan to temporarily freeze rent for rent-stabilized units in New York City, to make buses in the city free and to raise taxes by 2% on the wealthiest New Yorkers.
National and state Republicans said Jeffries’ endorsement amounted to the entire Democratic Party tying itself to the Democratic socialist mayoral candidate, suggesting Mamdani and his agenda would be a theme on the campaign trail far from New York in next year’s midterm elections.
“So-called ‘Leader’ Hakeem Jeffries has officially surrendered to Zohran Mamdani and the socialist mob now running the Democrat Party,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. “Their far-left takeover has torched Democrats’ hopes of retaking the House and turned their agenda into pure electoral poison. Every single Democrat is a willing accomplice to their own party’s collapse.”
