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<\/p>\n Email Link<\/p>\n New York \n New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday endorsed New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, calling him \u201ca leader who is focused on making New York City affordable\u201d despite their disagreements.\n <\/p>\n \n Hochul\u2019s endorsement, published<\/a> in The New York Times, makes her the latest high-profile Democrat<\/a> and the most powerful in the state to back the 33-year-old democratic socialist\u2019s campaign. It also puts new pressure<\/a> on other high-profile Democrats withholding their backing of Mamdani, notably House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Brooklyn residents.\n <\/p>\n \n The governor\u2019s endorsement breaks from more than two months of cautious distance. She initially refused to endorse Mamdani after he shocked former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary<\/a> in June.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIn the past few months, I\u2019ve had frank conversations with him. We\u2019ve had our disagreements,\u201d she wrote. \u201cBut in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family. I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable \u2014 a goal I enthusiastically support.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Mamdani\u2019s campaign focused on affordability and progressive agenda items like free city buses, government-run grocery stores and taxing the city\u2019s wealthiest residents.\n <\/p>\n \n Following the primary, Hochul specifically cited concerns about Mamdani\u2019s proposal to tax the wealthy, saying she believed it would encourage people to leave the state. Tax increases have to be passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor.\n <\/p>\n \n Hochul\u2019s endorsement is likely to carry significant political implications for both her and Mamdani. It could help bridge the gap between Mamdani\u2019s left-wing support and the Democratic establishment, including some who view Mamdani with skepticism due to his association with democratic socialism and his criticisms of Israel. It could also shore up Hochul\u2019s standing with progressives ahead of her own reelection campaign next year.\n <\/p>\n \n Notably, Hochul\u2019s column did not mention Mamdani\u2019s proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy. It addressed their conversations about antisemitism and providing resources to the New York Police Department.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019ve been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly. I look forward to working together to make sure New Yorkers of all faiths feel safe and welcome in New York City,\u201d Hochul wrote.\n <\/p>\n \n Mamdani previously called to defund the police but has pledged not to do so<\/a> if he is elected mayor. He has also disavowed previous statements<\/a> in which he called police racist and wicked.\n <\/p>\n \n Hochul, who served as lieutenant governor under Cuomo and ascended to the top office following his resignation, took a swipe at her former boss and the incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent in the general election, for their perceived ties to President Donald Trump. The president, a Queens native, has pushed to consolidate opposition<\/a> to Mamdani, whom he has labeled a \u201ccommunist.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAnyone who accepts his tainted influence, or benefits from it, is compromised from the start,\u201d Hochul wrote.\n <\/p>\n \n Mamdani issued a statement Sunday thanking Hochul for \u201cher support in unifying our party.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cGovernor Hochul has made affordability the centerpiece of her work,\u201d he said. \u201cI look forward to fighting alongside her to continue her track record of putting money back in New Yorkers\u2019 pockets and building a safer and stronger New York City where no one is forced to leave just so they can afford to raise a family.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facebook Tweet Email Link New York \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday endorsed New York City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-144600","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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