Jeffries rallies behind Mamdani

'I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election,' he told The New York Times

UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 23: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., conducts a news conference about the government shutdown on the House steps of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, October 23, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) threw his backing behind progressive mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Friday, one day before early voting is set to begin.

The New York Democrat had held out on endorsing in the closely-watched New York City mayoral race between Mamdani, a democratic socialist state lawmaker, Independent candidate and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Jeffries acknowledged he has “areas of principled disagreement” with Mamdani in a statement to The New York Times, but said Mamdani is “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,” adding, “In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.”

“I have not refused to endorse. I have refused to articulate my position,” he told CNN earlier in the day.

Jeffries becomes the second high-profile New York politician to endorse Mamdani, with Gov. Kathy Hochul announcing her backing last month.

His endorsement comes shortly after Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race, announced his endorsement of Cuomo, whom he plans to campaign alongside.

Polling shows Mamdani with a commanding lead over Cuomo — who came under fire as governor over allegations of sexual misconduct — with Sliwa trailing in third. A recent AARP and Gotham Polling survey shows Mamdani at 43%, compared to Cuomo’s 29% and Sliwa’s 19%.

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