House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday offered a long-awaited endorsement of Democrat Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor, four months after the state assemblyman won an upset primary victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs with any Mayor, there will be areas of agreement and areas of principled disagreement. Yet, the stakes are existential,\u201d Jeffries, who represents a Brooklyn district, said in a statement<\/a> announcing his support for the self-described democratic socialist.\u00a0<\/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 he added. \u201cIn that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n The late endorsement comes as early voting in the city is set to begin Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani clinched the Democratic nomination this summer, finishing ahead of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates after ranked choice tabulations, 56 percent to 44 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n He will face Cuomo again in the Nov. 4 general election, with the former governor running on a third-party line. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams ended his reelection bid last month, but it was too late to take his name off the ballot. He has since endorsed Cuomo. Also in the race is the Republican nominee, activist Curtis Sliwa, who has resisted calls for him to drop out and endorse the former governor.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani, who would become the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor if elected, has drawn criticism from rank-and-file elected Democrats<\/a> over past comments on Israel and Gaza. He has accused Israel of committing \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza and said he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters New York City. His refusal to condemn<\/a> the phrase \u201cGlobalize the Intifada\u201d made headlines, although he told business leaders after the primary<\/a> that he would not use the phrase and would discourage others from doing so.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAssemblyman Mamdani has promised to focus on keeping every New Yorker safe, including the Jewish community that has confronted a startling rise in antisemitic incidents as well as Black and Latino neighborhoods that have battled deadly gun violence for years,\u201d Jeffries said in his statement Friday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The House Democratic leader\u2019s decision to back Mamdani comes after monthslong game of cat and mouse. Since the primary, Jeffries has at various points signaled he could issue an endorsement and said he had spoken with Mamdani several times. But he evaded answering questions regarding why he was delaying formally backing his party\u2019s nominee in the race.<\/p>\n \u201cI have not refused to endorse. I have refused to articulate my position, and I will momentarily, at some point in advance of early voting,\u201d Jeffries told reporters Friday at the Capitol, hours before his announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n