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Why the hell won’t New York Democrats back Mamdani? [1]
['Daily Kos Staff']
Date: 2025-09-09
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other establishment Democrats are still holding out on endorsing Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor—even as new polling shows him running away with the race.
“We had a good meeting,” Schumer told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. “We know each other well, and we’re going to keep talking.”
But so far, that “good meeting” hasn’t turned into an endorsement.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer and other top Democrats are facing growing pressure from the party’s left flank to publicly back the 33-year-old democratic socialist, who is leading a four-way contest that includes incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted fellow Democrats last week for sitting on their hands, urging them to “put our differences aside” and support Mamdani “for the good of the party.”
“Are we a party that rallies behind our nominee or not?” she said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders echoed the frustration.
“I find it hard to understand how the major Democratic leaders in New York state are not supporting the Democratic candidate,” Sanders said. “One might think that if a candidate starting at 2% in the polls gets 50,000 volunteers, creates enormous excitement, gets young people involved in the political process, gets nontraditional voters to vote, Democratic leaders would be jumping up and down. This is our guy!”
The criticism isn’t just aimed at Schumer. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has met with Mamdani twice, according to Politico, but hasn’t endorsed him either, even though both he and Schumer are New York City residents and would become Mamdani’s constituents if he wins in November.
The pressure on party leaders only grew after a New York Times/Siena College poll released on Tuesday showed Mamdani holding a commanding lead over his rivals. And progressives argue there’s no excuse for establishment Democrats to sit this one out. After all, outgoing Rep. Jerry Nadler endorsed Mamdani back in June.
Related | Democratic stalwart exits Congress—and says it’s time to pass the torch
Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly working to clear the field for Cuomo, with reports claiming that his team has floated administration jobs for Adams and Sliwa if they agree to bow out. While Trump denied offering Adams an ambassadorship, the embattled mayor has faced a flood of private-sector offers aimed at luring him out of the race. For now, though, he insists he’s staying put.
Currently, it doesn’t seem like Mamdani’s campaign is sweating the cold shoulder from Schumer.
“Zohran has known Senator Schumer for years, and has been proud to work with him while in the Assembly, from securing $450 million in debt relief for thousands of taxi drivers to halting the construction of a fracked gas power plant in Astoria,” said campaign spokesperson Jeffrey Lerner.
Still, the refusal to rally behind the popular candidate has angered progressives, especially with the election less than two months away. CNN reports that many New York Democrats—including Reps. Yvette Clarke, Dan Goldman, Ritchie Torres, Gregory Meeks, and Grace Meng have also withheld their support. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she’s had “a number of conversations” with Mamdani and met with him in person, but she, too, has kept quiet.
Sources told CNN that some of the hesitation stems from threats by Mamdani’s allies to primary Jeffries and other members of Congress, as well as Mamdani’s ties to the Democratic Socialists of America and his criticism of Israel.
But with Trump trying to clear the field for Cuomo and Mamdani running away with the polls, the real question isn’t who the nominee will be—it’s whether party leaders will actually get behind him. Every day they drag their feet, they hand Trump an opening to call Democrats divided and give Mamdani’s allies more ammo to claim the establishment is out to sink him.
Time’s running out.
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