![\"Mayor-elect](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/MixCollage-19-Nov-2025-02-49-PM-5895.jpg\" "\\"Mayor-elect")
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Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (left) and City Council Member Chi Oss\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Photos by Jonathan Portee<\/p>\n
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani<\/a> on Wednesday publicly stuck a pin into left-leaning City Council Member Chi Oss\u00e9\u2019s ballooning primary campaign against House Democratic Leader<\/a> Hakeem Jeffries, saying it is \u201cnot the time\u201d to bring such a challenge.<\/p>\n Mamdani, a democratic socialist, made the comments during a Nov. 19 interview on PIX11<\/a> two days after Oss\u00e9, a recently joined member of the Democratic Socialists of America, filed paperwork to run against Jeffries on Monday.<\/p>\n Oss\u00e9 was a close ally of Mamdani\u2019s and a strong supporter of his campaign until they had a falling out over the notion of him running against Jeffries, The New York Times reported last week.<\/a> There is also concern that the challenge could compromise Mamdani\u2019s efforts to deliver on his affordability agenda, the report noted.<\/p>\n Mamdani worked for months to win Jeffries\u2019 support, which he ultimately received<\/a>, ahead of the mayoral general election earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that right now is not the time to be engaging in that kind of a primary. I think the focus should be on delivering on this affordability agenda,\u201d Mamdani said in response to host Dan Mannarino asking if he thinks Oss\u00e9 should not run.<\/p>\n Oss\u00e9 did not immediately respond to Mamdani\u2019s remarks when contacted by amNewYork via text.\n<\/p>\n Political commentator Gerson Borrero, who supported Cuomo in the mayoral race, commented in a social media post<\/a> that Mamdani and Oss\u00e9 seemed to be practicing politics as usual despite both being democratic socialists.<\/p>\n \u201cSounds more and more like the politics Neoyorquinos have seen time and time again,\u201d Borrero wrote. \u201c@ZohranKMamdani does it his way to get to City Hall but @OsseChi has to follow his orders. So, how are socialists different? I must be missing something here.\u201d<\/p>\n While Mamdani has expressed misgivings about Oss\u00e9 challenging the House Democratic leader in recent days, Wednesday marked the first time he explicitly stated that the council member should not mount a campaign at this time. He is concerned that a primary against Jeffries could derail the affordability-focused agenda that helped him secure the mayoralty, according to the New York Times.<\/p>\n Another progressive stalwart, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens\/Bronx), appears to be on the same page with Mamdani, telling Axios on Monday<\/a> that she does not think challenging Jeffries at the moment is a \u201cgood idea.\u201d AOC famously challenged and defeated a senior establishment Democratic House member, Joe Crowley, in a 2018 Democratic primary upset.\u00a0<\/p>\n