House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday eneded the months of speculation over why he has stayed on the sidelines and endorsed Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani to be mayor of New York City.
Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives who is vying to become speaker of the House next Congress, had so far not endorsed Mamdani, despite the assemblyman having beaten disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June’s party primary.
But his statement showed Jeffries had a change of heart.
“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,” he said.
But Jeffries also couched his support in his statement.
“For decades, working class neighborhoods of color have been hurt by gentrification and housing displacement,” he said. “That must change. I support our nominee’s strong commitment to building a City where everyday New Yorkers can afford to live. By necessity, this must involve a meaningful partnership with the private sector to dramatically increase the supply of affordable homes.”
The race between Cuomo and Mamdani has devolved into a slugfest, with Cuomo targeting Mamdani’s religion while the New York Knicks put out a cease and desist letter after Mamdani put out an ad showing his campaign logo looking similar to the Knicks’.
Shortly after losing the primary, Cuomo, who resigned as governor after New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report in 2021 detailing Cuomo’s history of sexual misconduct, announced he would run as an independent in the race.
Cuomo has failed to garner enough support and consistently trails Mamdani. As a result, many Republicans and business leaders have pushed for Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to drop out. But Sliwa has defiantly criticized people have pushed for his exit from the race, noting how Cuomo lost the Democratic primary.
Most polling shows Mamdani leading the the race, with a Fox News poll showing him winning a majority, while Cuomo receives about a third of the support. Sliwa receives slightly less than 20 percent of the vote.
Earlier this week, after the mayoral debate, Cuomo received the endorsement of current mayor Eric Adams despite months of sharp words.
Cuomo largely began his run after Adams faced an indictment last year, though the corruption case was dismissed after the Trump administration came into office. Adams would drop out in September before his endorsement.
The race between Cuomo and Adams has also become increasingly personal and devolved into Islamophobia.
During an interview with conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg, the host told Cuomo that Mamdani, who is Muslim, would “be cheering” if New York City faced an attack on the level of September 11, 2001.
In response, Cuomo said “that’s another problem.” Cuomo’s comments received severe condemnation from multiple Democrats.
So far, ever since Mamdani pulled off an improbable win against Cuomo, many Democrats have praised him, but held off on endorsing him. Some have held off on doing so partially because of his refusal in an interview with The Bulwark to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
Jeffries’s statement mentioned combating antisemitism in New York in response to increased attacks on Jewish people in the war of Israel’s war in Gaza after the attacks on October 7, 2023.
“Assemblyman Mamdani has promised to focus on keeping every New Yorker safe, including the Jewish community that has confronted a startling rise in antisemitic incidents as well as Black and Latino neighborhoods that have battled deadly gun violence for years.” he said.
Jeffries praised Mamdani’s decision to keep New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her job.
“As with any Mayor, there will be areas of agreement and areas of principled disagreement,” he said. “Yet, the stakes are existential.”
In the same token, he’s received endorsements from other leaders, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Nydia Velázquez and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat.
In September, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who assumed the governorship after Cuomo resigned, endorsed Mamdani. Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who is running against Hochul for the Democratic nomination for governor, also endorsed Mamdani.
But so far, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have withheld their endorsements of Mamdani while also not endorsing Cuomo.
Early voting in New York City begins on Friday. It’s one of five major elections happening next month.
In addition, New Jersey will have its gubernatorial election, Virginia will have its election for governor and other statewide offices, Pennsylvania will have its election for the state supreme court and California will hold a referendum to allow the legislature to redraw congressional districts in response to Texas redrawing its map to shore up Republicans.
