Jeffries endorses Mamdani for NYC mayor just before early voting starts

Until the last hour, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was feigning coyness about endorsing Zahran Mamdani In the New York City mayor’s race.

“Early voting, as you know, starts tomorrow,” a Jefferies reporter noted at 11:06 a.m. Friday. “Are you ready to endorse Mamdani?”

“Stay tuned,” Jeffries replied.

“What more do you want to hear at this point?” asked another writer.

‘Stay tuned’: Jefferies repeatedly evades Mamdani endorsement as self-imposed deadline approaches

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced his support for leftist candidate Zahran Mamdani for mayor of his city. (Angelina Katsanis-Paul/Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Same answer,” Jeffries said. “I have not declined to endorse. I have declined to express my position and will do so momentarily, at some point before early voting.”

Well, early voting began Saturday in New York. True to his word, Jeffries made his position known via a statement issued early Friday afternoon, throwing his political influence behind Mamdani.

“Zahran Mamdani has been relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and has explicitly committed to serving as mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries said. “The communities I represent in Brooklyn are being devastated by this extremist version of the Republican Party. In this environment, we have a clear commitment to confronting the national nightmare that Republican extremism is inflicting on the American people.”

Jeffries ended his endorsement with this key line: “I support the Democratic ticket.”

In some ways, this was the least important line in Jeffries’ statement. It would be unreasonable to think that the top House Democrat, from New York City, would not endorse the Democratic nominee for mayor of his hometown.

The story could have been bigger if Jeffries had not endorsed Mamdani.

We don’t know exactly what Jeffries thought about for so long. But we understand the division within the Democratic Party between centrist Democrats and the far left. That’s why Republicans are screaming from the Empire State Building that Mamdani is a “socialist” or even a “communist.” Republicans secretly don’t like the fact that Mamdani is the Democratic nominee. They embrace the fact that Mamdani is worrying some Democrats as the party tries to reach moderate voters – while grappling with the candidate’s left-wing views.

Zahran Mamdani gets a long-awaited major endorsement in the New York mayoral race

“What we are witnessing is truly the end of the Democratic Party as we knew it,” the House Speaker said. Mike Johnson,t-no. “Hakeem Jeffries has finally relented. He has given in and given his endorsement to the socialist candidate for mayor of New York City. House Democrats have shown the world what they really believe in. There is no longer room for [centrists] And the moderates in their party.”

Republicans also claim that the reason Democrats are “shutdowning the government” is because Jeffries and the Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerHe, DN.Y., heard footsteps from the left and feared a fundamental challenge. In Schumer’s case: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezD.N.Y.

“They decided to save themselves from having to endorse the Marxist Mamdani,” Johnson speculated. “And in an unprecedented move, they also decided that they had to shut down the government in an unprecedented move.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Los Angeles, was quick to pounce on Jeffries after he “backed down” and supported the “socialist” Mamdani. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

When Jeffries was asked on MSNBC over the weekend why it took him so long to endorse Mamdani, he responded that he was “not someone I knew before he got the Democratic nomination.”

Jeffries added that he wanted to “sit down and have some conversations” with Mamdani.

But the endorsement question has been a torturous vehicle for Jeffries since Mamdani secured the Democratic nomination for mayor on June 25.

On the day Mamdani won the primary, Jeffries offered his “congratulations to Zahran Mamdani on the decisive victory in the primary.”

But Jefferies did not support this.

Socialist candidate Mamdani meets with Democrats in New York as they withhold their endorsement

“We spoke this morning and plan to meet in downtown Brooklyn soon,” Jeffries said.

Four days later, ABC’s Jonathan Carle asked Jefferies whether he had endorsed Mamdani yet.

The answer was no.

Republicans, meanwhile, have been blaming Democratic leadership for the ongoing shutdown as both Jeffries and Schumer face potential primary challenges from the left. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

“He excelled at work, he excelled at communication, he excelled at organizing opposition. And that’s clearly the reason for his success,” Jeffries said.

“So what’s stopping you from supporting him now?” Carl asked.

“Well, we don’t really know each other that well. Our areas don’t overlap. I’ve never had a substantive conversation with him,” Jeffries replied.

And so it went all summer, and into the fall. Reporters frequently peppered Jeffries with questions about a potential endorsement or what a filibuster might be. Jefferies was always cautious.

In fact, resistance to the endorsement fueled speculation that Jeffries had reservations about Mamdani. This is to say nothing of the potential problems Mamdani could cause for the party as it tries to woo swing voters.

Early voting is underway in New York and New Jersey amid intense competition for mayors and governors

“What must he do to secure your support?” CNN’s Dana Bash asked on August 24.

“(Rep.) Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and I are scheduled to sit down with him in the next few days. I’m looking forward to this conversation,” Jeffries said.

Bash responded, saying, “What do you want to hear from him? What’s missing? I mean, it’s unusual for a high-profile Democrat like you to withhold an endorsement from your party’s nominee for mayor of New York City.”

“I don’t think we’ve withheld support. We’re engaging in a conversation about the future of New York City,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries claims he “raised numerous issues with” Mamdani privately as well as expressing his concerns publicly. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty Images)

Bash asked whether Jefferies supported Mamdani because he “did not denounce the use of the term or support the term globalization of the uprising?”

“I raised several issues with him privately, and I also spoke publicly about some concerns I had,” Jeffries said.

So, there were actually “concerns”.

“What do you say to your young voters, the passionate young voters who helped put Mamdani in the position he is in and now demand that you represent their desires and endorse him?” a Jefferies reporter asked at the Capitol on October 6.

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“I think I’ve answered these questions over and over again, and I’ll have more to say before early voting,” Jeffries said.

There were more questions for Jeffries about Mamdani on October 9.

“We are in the middle of a Government shutdownJeffries sidestepped when asked about possible plans for certification. “I’d like to say more about the mayor’s race before early voting in New York City begins at the end of this month.”

So Jeffries has now endorsed Mamdani. This should answer all the questions, right?

questionable.

Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zahran Mamdani delivers a speech in the Bronx, New York City, on Friday, October 24, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavy)

Republicans pounced On Jefferies’ decision to support. Moderate Democrats and many pro-Israel voters complained. Yes. Perhaps Jeffries needed to achieve a comfort level with Mamdani and clarify the questions the Minority Leader had in mind. But in the end, Jeffries may have had no choice but to endorse him. Failure to ratify could have split the party. Jeffries likely had to weigh what was the greater risk: disaffecting and angering the left, or approving and losing those in the middle.

Everything in politics is calculus. Jeffries did the calculus — on behalf of himself, New York City and his party.

Yes, Republicans will criticize Jeffries hard for this decision. But they’ll try to link Jefferies to Mamdani anyway. Fair or not.

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It’s doubtful that Jeffries’ endorsement would win or lose Mamdani’s mayoral race anyway.

But refusing to endorse would highlight Division within the Democratic Party. That would have raised more questions than Jefferies ever asked about whether he would support it or not.