House Dems leader Jeffries endorses Mamdani, after past criticism over anti-Israel rhetoric

New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader in the US House, endorses New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

“Assemblyman Mamdani has promised to focus on keeping every New Yorker safe, including the Jewish community that has confronted a startling rise in antisemitic incidents as well as Black and Latino neighborhoods that have battled deadly gun violence for years,” Jeffries says in a statement to The New York Times.

Jeffries had held off on endorsing Mamdani and his backing comes at the last minute. Early voting starts tomorrow and the general election is on November 4.

Despite the late endorsement, the move is likely to boost Mamdani and hurt his leading rival, the pro-Israel, centrist former governor Andrew Cuomo.

Jeffries had previously urged Mamdani to “reassure Jewish New Yorkers that he plans to prioritize their safety” and criticized Mamdani’s defense of the phrase, “Globalize the intifada.”

“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism,” Jeffries said of Mamdani earlier this year.

“Globalizing the intifada, by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase and he’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward,” Jeffries said. Mamdani has since said he would “discourage” use of the slogan.

Jewish leaders have issued a series of warnings about Mamdani this week, saying that his vilification of Israel could spur violence and hatred against Jews.

Jews in New York City are targeted in hate crimes far more than other groups.

Most of New York’s Democratic establishment has lined up behind Mamdani and including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James.

The state’s Democratic Party chairman, Jay Jacobs, said last month that he would not endorse Mamdani due to his far-left politics and positions on Israel, in a rare break from Hochul.

New York’s senators, Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, and the pro-Israel New York City Reps. Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres, have not made endorsements.

Cuomo picked up a significant late endorsement from his former rival, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, this week.