New York Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani after three months, putting pressure on other party leaders to follow suit.
It took nearly three months, but the top Democrat in New York state has finally endorsed New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
„New York City deserves a mayor who will stand up to Donald Trump and make life more affordable for New Yorkers. That’s @ZohranKMamdani“, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday evening in a social media post.
The governor’s endorsement is significant, as it may help Mamdani secure the backing of other key members of the party’s establishment. And it will likely put more pressure on two other top Democrats in New York State who are still withholding their backing of Mamdani – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top two Democratic Party leaders in Congress.
Mamdani, in a statement, said he was „grateful to the Governor for her support in unifying our party — as well as the work she’s done standing up to President Trump, securing free lunch meals for our kids, and expanding access to childcare.“
Hochul announced her support for Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from Queens who shocked the political world in June with his convincing win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic Party’s mayoral nomination, in the New York Times.
„In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements“, the governor wrote. „But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family. I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support.“
The Ugandan-born Mamdani, if elected, would become the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation’s most populous city.
