Last month, a few days after New York's Democratic mayoral primary, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sat for an interview with ABC News. Asked whether he would endorse state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in the general election after Mamdani had effectively won the primary in a shocking upset, Jeffries declined. "We don't really know each other well," the congressman said. But he added he was looking forward to a "sit-down" with Mamdani to clarify his vision and his positions on various issues.
Jeffries and Mamdani had that sit-down Friday, but afterward, the Democratic leader still declined to endorse the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York, which includes the congressional district Jeffries represents. Politico reported that Mamdani left the meeting Friday "about an hour later with only the promise of another meeting."
Mamdani clearly already knows how to exploit Cuomo's weaknesses.
Jeffries and some other top New York Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul, continue to withhold formal endorsements from their party's candidate for mayor, even though Mamdani won more votes than any candidate in any primary in New York's history. It's effectively a pressure tactic on Mamdani to moderate his positions after running as a proud democratic socialist and refusing to back off of his past criticisms of Israel.
As the assemblyman prepares for the general election, more endorsements from Democratic leaders certainly wouldn't hurt in a contest that includes two prominent Democrats — former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Eric Adams — running as independents.
But Mamdani probably doesn't need Jeffries and company's endorsements to win the race. The absence of their endorsements could, theoretically, even give him a slight boost by riling up his devoted base.
After starting the year with little citywide name recognition, Mamdani is widely considered the favorite in the race and is consistently leading the polls. He will be listed on the Democratic Party line in November, in an extremely blue city, after winning a primary that is widely considered the de facto general election. And in that competitive and crowded election, he thrashed his opponents, defeating Cuomo by 12 points in the final round of ranked choice voting.
So Mamdani clearly already knows how to exploit Cuomo's weaknesses. As for his other opponents in the general election, Adams is deeply unpopular in New York. The Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, is not a serious threat in a Democratic city and was shellacked in the last election. Moreover, all three of Mamdani's opponents are likely to eat into each other's vote share as they vie to monopolize the position of defending New York from socialism.
Mamdani would also have more to fear from Schumer and others not backing him if he wasn't winning any endorsements from Democrats. Yet he has backing from the likes of a number of New York Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, one of the city's most prominent Jewish leaders. Mamdani is also winning over powerful labor unions that had endorsed Cuomo in the Democratic primary, as well as local party organizations.
If Jeffries and other top Democrats ultimately refuse to ever endorse the new rising star in their party, that could only serve as further confirmation to Mamdani's base — which includes a massive grassroots army of volunteers — that he's the real deal. And it would cement the antiestablishment aura that catapulted him to his first victory.
