Mamdani pressing top Democrats to back his NYC mayoral bid as key leaders remain silent
Most prominently, Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — the Empire State's most powerful elected Democrats — have withheld support of Mamdani despite his decisive primary win in June, a sign that the party's establishment remains wary of his left-wing agenda.
The reticence around jumping on the Mamdani train has highlighted an identity crisis of sorts playing out inside the party as its leaders wrestle with whether the 33-year-old Queens Assembly member is a model for the future of Democratic party politics.
Against that backdrop, Mamdani is this week in the middle of a 'five boroughs against Trump' tour. Mamdani is appearing in one borough per day, joined by local elected officials aligned with his vision to as mayor resist President Donald Trump's immigration and economic agendas.
On Tuesday, Mamdani appeared in Brooklyn with several local powerbrokers at a rent-stabilized apartment complex in East Flatbush.
Among those joining him were moderates like Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the boss of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, as well as more progressive voices, including Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, who is, like Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Also in attendance was Brooklyn Councilwoman Farah Louis, who represents the area and, like Bichotte Hermelyn, supported ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's failed mayoral primary campaign before switching over to back Mamdani.
'I need you to understand what's going on right now, because I don't think this group of people agree about nothing,' Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a progressive, said, highlighting the disparate views of the politicians on hand for the East Flatbush event.
Without mentioning names, Williams added that party leaders who are still sitting on the fence need to 'join' Mamdani already.
'The Democratic message hasn't worked, it has got us Donald Trump who is taking over D.C.,' said Williams, who endorsed Brad Lander as his No. 1 pick for mayor in the primary but has since switched to support Mamdani. 'The message of Zohran Mamdani has not only worked — it's the message that people have wanted and have been pleading for.'
Bichotte Hermelyn, who was a top supporter of Mayor Adams before she backed Cuomo's failed primary bid, suggested she's not worried about November, arguing it's 'not going to be a hard fight' for Mamdani to win.
'Believe it or not, a lot of people are jumping onboard,' she said, noting that Black communities in particular — a key constituency Mamdani struggled to court during the primary — are becoming 'really excited' about his campaign.
Reps for Hochul, Jeffries and Schumer didn't return requests for comment Tuesday.
But Hochul in an appearance on Fox News over the weekend said that she and Mamdani 'still have many differences' and that she doesn't want to 'whitewash that away.'
Hochul and Jeffries have met with Mamdani in recent weeks and offered him congratulations following his primary win. Schumer hasn't met with Mamdani, but a source to the senator told the Daily News he spoke with him recently and plans to sit down with him soon.
At Mamdani's first anti-Trump tour stop in Manhattan on Monday, speakers, including Rep. Jerry Nadler, the dean of New York's congressional delegation, offered a similar message of urging party honchos to endorse the Democratic nominee. Mamdani is expected to take his anti-Trump tour to Staten Island on Wednesday, the Bronx on Thursday and Queens on Friday, his campaign said.
Mamdani beat Cuomo in the June 24 primary by 12% after centering his campaign on proposals to raise taxes on corporations and millionaires in order to fund more rigorous social programs for the working class, like free public buses, drastically expanded subsidized child care and rent freezes for stabilized tenants.
Despite his primary loss, Cuomo is running in November's general election as an independent, as is Mayor Adams and attorney Jim Walden. Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa will also be on November's ballot.
Since his primary victory, Mamdani has sought to broaden his political tent a bit by disavowing some of his past rhetoric that became fodder for his political opponents during the primary.
That includes Mamdani saying he no longer supports, as he did in 2020, calls to 'defund' and 'dismantle' the NYPD. An outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza, Mamdani now is saying he would discourage use of the phrase 'globalize the intifada,' a phrase many see as antisemitic.
'I'm not looking to just be the mayor for the more than 500,000 New Yorkers who voted for me in the primary,' Mamdani said at Tuesday's event. 'I 'm looking to be the mayor for New Yorkers who voted for Andrew Cuomo, for New Yorkers who didn't vote at all, for anyone of the 8.5 million people who call this city their home and that means I have a responsibility to make a case everywhere.'
Still, Brooklyn Councilman Justin Brannan, the Council's Finance Committee head who joined Mamdani in East Flatbush, said it's key that he sticks to the populist political platform he promulgated during the primary.
'Zohran gave Democrats a blueprint for how to rebuild our party by exciting new voters and winning back the working class,' Brannan told The News afterward. 'All New York City Democrats should be supporting the Democratic nominee at this crucial time for our city and our democracy.'
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USA Today
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The Hill
26 minutes ago
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