House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor Friday \u2014 ending a months-long will-he-or-won\u2019t-he wait.<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn congressman endorsed the Democratic mayoral front-runner in a statement to the New York Times<\/a>, noting that while the two have \u201careas of principled disagreement,\u201d the party needs to unite in the face of the \u201cexistential\u201d threat from President Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cZohran Mamdani has 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,\u201d the top House Democrat wrote in the statement.<\/p>\n The move comes less than two weeks before the Nov. 4 election, and after Jeffries and other national Democratic leaders awkwardly avoided embracing Mamdani \u2014 a 34-year-old member of the Democratic Socialists of America \u2014 and his far-left agenda after his stunning primary victory in June.<\/p>\n But Jeffries\u2019 reluctance appeared to thaw Thursday, when he told the Rev. Al Sharpton during an appearance on the civil rights leader\u2019s radio show \u201cKeepin\u2019 It Real\u201d that the endorsement would likely come Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cI do hope to talk to the Democratic nominee either late today or tomorrow, in advance of early voting,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think that his decision to announce that he would reappoint [NYPD] Commissioner Jessica Tisch is a positive step in the right direction in terms of sending the message that, while he is going to of course focus on affordability \u2014 and that is the number one concern of the people in the communities I represent.\u201d<\/p>\n The Democratic leader similarly signaled during an interview with Bloomberg Television that Mamdani\u2019s decision to try to retain Tisch \u2014 whose tenure atop the NYPD has been widely praised \u2014 was \u201ca strong step toward community trust and public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cZohran has demonstrated a real partnership with local communities and a willingness to work with all New Yorkers to make the city more affordable and inclusive,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n The Democratic establishment has been slow to coalesce behind ultra-liberal Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. AP<\/p>\n House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Thursday he would likely endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City by Friday. Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n Jeffries, known for his mainstream views and cautious approach to politics, has spent months in conversation with Mamdani about key city issues like affordability.<\/p>\n Sharpton himself has publicly praised Mamdani and even joined him at a campaign rally in Harlem in June, but has not endorsed the candidate yet either.<\/p>\n When Mamdani\u2019s campaign rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, met with Sharpton\u00a0in September, it was rumored the meeting was to seek an endorsement<\/a>.<\/p>\n