FROM NEW YORK POST: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor Friday — ending a months-long will-he-or-won’t-he wait.
The Brooklyn congressman endorsed the Democratic mayoral front-runner in a statement to the New York Times, noting that while the two have “areas of principled disagreement,” the party needs to unite in the face of the “existential” threat from President Trump.
The move comes less than two weeks before the Nov. 4 election, and after Jeffries and other national Democratic leaders awkwardly avoided embracing Mamdani — a 34-year-old member of the Democratic Socialists of America — and his far-left agenda after his stunning primary victory in June.
Jeffries said in a statement: “Zohran 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.”
“In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election,” Jeffries added.
Jeffries told Bloomberg Television that Mamdani “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.”
Breaking News: Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the race for mayor of New York City. Jeffries emphasized that the party needed to unite in the face of an “existential” threat from President Trump. https://t.co/jSvwq7emT5 pic.twitter.com/caUQr3ey9h
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 24, 2025
NBC NEWS reports:
Earlier this week, on Sunday, Jeffries told ABC News’ “This Week” that he and Mamdani have had some “good conversations” since the primary but declined to formally endorse him.
“We’ve had very good conversations over the last few months in advance of the government shutting down that were forward-looking, that were community-based, that were focused on, in particular, his efforts to make New York City more affordable,” Jeffries told ABC News. “That’s the right issue to focus on. It’s why he decisively won the primary. And I look forward to continuing that conversation next week.”
On Friday, in the U.S. Capitol, Jeffries disputed the characterization that he’s “refused to endorse” anyone in the race.
“I have not refused to endorse. I have refused to articulate my position, and I will momentarily, at some point in advance of early voting,” Jeffries told reporters, one day before early voting begins in the five boroughs.
READ MORE AT NEW YORK POST
