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Democrats from New York are praising Zohran Mamdani for his victorious campaign for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City.
But they are stopping just short of endorsing him.
Mamdani pulled off an improbable win against Andrew Cuomo--the disgraced former governor of the state--to become the expected Democratic nominee for Mayor, making him a presumptive frontrunner to become the next mayor.
“I had a lovely call with Zohran and we talked about how he inspired voters to support him because of his laser-like focus on affordability,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York told The Independent. “I asked for a meeting for to talk about some issues that I have that I want to talk through.”
Sen. Gillibrand is the chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee which works to elect Democratic candidates in the Senate and defend incumbents.
Already, Republicans are seeking to make Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party and to claim the party endorse his previous statements about defunding the police and his rhetoric about Israel, specifically his statement that “globalize the intifada” was a legitimate expression of support for Palestinians.
“He very much is the face of the Democratic Party and they need to make very clear whether or not they embrace and support him or not,” Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican who represents a swing district in New York, told The Independent.
After Mamdani’s victory, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of whom hail from Brooklyn, praised Mamdani and said they planned to meet with him. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the same, but stopped short of backing him.
But Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who represents a swing district outside the city, posted her criticisms of Mamdani on X.
“Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City,” she said. “Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing.”
Lawler, who has considered running against Hochul, pointed to Gillen’s comments.
“And yet, Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer and Kathy Hochul put together the most gobbledygook bulls**t statements I've ever seen in my life, saying nothing about anything except that they're going to continue to speak with him, whatever the hell that means,” Lawler said.
Mamdani began his campaign largely as an unknown candidate and backbencher state assemblyman in New York’s state legislature. By contrast, Cuomo was the son of a former governor who himself won the governorship three times before ultimately resigning after New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report detailing a pattern of sexual impropriety, which Cuomo vehemently denied.
Many members of Congress who had called for Cuomo to resign later endorsed him. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, backed Cuomo after previously saying he should resign in 2021.
“He didn't run a good campaign,” Espaillat said of Cuomo. By contrast, Espaillat praised Mamdani’s campaign.
“I think he ran a great race,” Espaillat told The Independent. “He's now the Democratic nominee, and we'll see we're gonna have a conversation.”
Mamdani received a last-minute boost from progressive heavyweights, including New York Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent socialist from Vermont who is a native of Brooklyn.
Other Democrats have refrained from endorsing Mamdani just yet.
“I haven’t thought about it at all yet,” Rep. George Latimer, who represents Westchester and part of the Bronx and endorsed Cuomo, told The Independent. “I don't want to be presumptive if I don't know what's going to happen.”
The city’s disgraced Mayor Eric Adams has said he will run a third party campaign and some have floated whether Cuomo will run on a third-party line as well.
Rep. Tom Suozzi referred The Independent to a tweet he made about Mamdani.
“I had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before yesterday, and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent,” he tweeted. “Those concerns remain.”
But Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is Jewish, announced his support for Mamdani and compared it to Barack Obama’s 2008 victory.
“I’ve spoken with him today about his commitment to fighting antisemitism and we’ll talk with all New Yorkers to fight against all bigotry and hate,” he said.
Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida, who celebrated Mamdani’s win, had a simple comment about his skittish Democratic colleagues.
“Vote blue no matter who,” he told The Independent.
