Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, has endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the race for New York mayor after spending months distancing himself from the polarising candidate.
Mr Jeffries’s endorsement is a significant boost for the Democratic Socialist, who has been left out in the cold by some of the city’s most senior Democrats amid concern over his progressive policies and far-Left comments.
In June, Mr Mamdani, 34, swept to victory in a shock Democratic primary, which saw him trounce Andrew Cuomo, the establishment candidate and former state governor.
For months, pollsters have put Mr Mamdani ahead of Mr Cuomo, his closest contender, who re-entered the race as an independent. But Mr Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, refrained from endorsing him.
On Friday, however, Mr Jeffries threw his support behind the candidate, saying he had won a “free and fair election” in the primary and the party needed to unite against the “existential” threat posed by Donald Trump, the US president.
Attempting to keep some distance between himself and Mr Mamdani, the Brooklyn Democrat, told The New York Times (NYT) the two men had “areas of principled disagreement”.
But he added: “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.”
