Hakeem Jeffries Endorses Mamdani for NYC Mayor, Despite ‘Principled Disagreement’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has officially endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, offering tepid support after months of silence on the race. The top House Democrat, who represents Brooklyn, finally backed the Democratic Socialist candidate Friday in a statement that acknowledged key policy differences.

Jeffries praised Mamdani’s focus on affordability — a central message of his campaign — while warning that Democrats must unify to face what he called an “existential” threat from President Donald Trump. “Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers,” Jeffries said. “In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.”

The endorsement comes after weeks of speculation about whether Jeffries would support Mamdani, whose positions have caused friction within the party. Just two years ago, Mamdani sharply criticized party leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, for what he called a failure to address the cost-of-living crisis.

Mamdani welcomed the endorsement and used it as an opportunity to renew his pledge to challenge “big money and small ideas” in politics. “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.

Despite concerns from moderate Democrats about Mamdani’s far-left stances, top party figures including Hochul and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have also thrown their support behind him, signaling a broader party effort to consolidate around the frontrunner ahead of the general election.