U.S. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to endorse New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Friday, and become yet another Democratic leader to get behind the socialist’s campaign, according to POLITICO.
Two people “with knowledge of the situation” told POLITICO that Jeffries is ready to publicly back Mamdani after the House minority leader faced pressure from leftists for months. The endorsement is expected to come just one day before early voting begins in the NYC mayoral race, as Mamdani maintains a significant polling advantage over former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who’s running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Jeffries told reporters in Washington, D.C., on Friday to “stay tuned.”
“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,” he added.
Jeffries has already praised Mamdani for focusing on economic issues. In June, shortly after Mamdani won the Democratic primary, Jeffries said that the socialist candidate “clearly out-worked, out-organized and out-communicated the opposition.” Leftist activist Al Sharpton has reportedly been instrumental in setting up discussions between Jeffries’ and Mamdani’s teams.
Mamdani boasts the endorsements of other Democrats in the state and around the country, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has also strongly backed Mamdani, campaigning with NYC mayoral candidate last month.
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Assuming Jeffries endorses Mamdani on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will become the only key New York Democratic leader who has not yet endorsed the socialist candidate.
Mamdani, who has called for rent freezing, price controls, and city-owned grocery stores, leads Cuomo by double digits, according to the most recent polls. Some Republicans have called on GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race to potentially give Cuomo an extra boost. Sliwa, who stands a 16% in the RealClearPolitics average of polling, said that he will stay in the race, arguing that the effort to push him out is promoted by billionaires, such as hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman.
“The billionaires can conspire to pick their candidate,” Sliwa said earlier this week. “I trust the people. They will make the decision. I will not drop out.”
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that even if Sliwa were to drop out, Cuomo would “have a little bit of a chance, but not much.” Trump called Mamdani a “communist,” but he added that he would be willing to talk to Mamdani if he were to become mayor.
The president previously threatened to cut federal funding for New York City if Mamdani is elected.
“He is going to have problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once great City,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last month. “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
