Hakeem Jeffries finally endorses Zohran Mamdani in New York mayor’s race

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s mayoral race after facing weeks of questions about whether he would back the far-left candidate.

“Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Mr. Jeffries, New York Democrat, said Friday in the written endorsement.

Republicans said the move marked Mr. Jeffries’ capitulation to the far-left extremist arm of the party, even as voting trends show the country turning away from it.

“So-called ’Leader’ Hakeem Jeffries has officially surrendered to Zohran Mamdani and the socialist mob now running the Democrat Party,” said National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesman Mike Marinella in a statement.

“Their far-left takeover has torched Democrats’ hopes of retaking the House and turned their agenda into pure electoral poison,” Mr. Marinella said. “Every single Democrat is a willing accomplice to their own party’s collapse.”

Mr. Mamdani has run on the promise of free bus rides, rent-stabilized housing, eliminating the police department’s gang database, advocating for a $30 minimum wage and opening city-owned grocery stores.

Mr. Mamdani holds a comfortable lead in polls over his two major challengers, former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

Mr. Sliwa, the founder of the nonprofit crime watchdog Guardian Angels, quit his job as a talk-radio host at WABC earlier this week amid pressure from station brass for him to end his campaign.

Mr. Cuomo, meanwhile, received the endorsement Thursday of incumbent New York Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race in September after trailing badly in the polls.

Mr. Jeffries’ endorsement of Mr. Mamdani left some puzzled over the timing, because it is unlikely to move the needle substantially in the mayoral race but could give critics a powerful talking point in upcoming midterm elections.

“Thank you, Hakeem Jeffries, for the in-kind contribution,” Republican National Committee Spokeswoman Delanie Bomar said in a statement. “He has made our lives easier by directly connecting every vulnerable Democrat to socialist Mamdani’s out-of-touch politics.”

In his endorsement, Mr. Jeffries said despite any ideological differences, he could not afford to stay quiet and allow the Big Apple to fall to a more moderate alternative.

“As with any Mayor, there will be areas of agreement and areas of principled disagreement,” he said.

“Yet, the stakes are existential,” he said. “Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have unleashed an unprecedented assault on the economy, ripped healthcare away from my constituents, weaponized the Department of Justice against our state’s Attorney General and ordered masked agents to callously target law-abiding immigrant families.”

News of Mr. Jeffries’ endorsement broke shortly after New York Attorney General Letitia James was arraigned at a federal court in Virginia on two felony charges related to her alleged loan fraud. She pleaded not guilty.

Ms. James, who campaigned vocally on a “Get Trump” platform, previously charged Mr. Trump with similar crimes ahead of the 2024 presidential election, leading to an eye-popping $464 million judgment against him. An appeals court later overturned the ruling, finding the penalty to be excessive in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

• Kerry Picket contributed to this story.