Zohran Mamdani has just received his biggest political endorsement yet in his race to become the mayor of New York City, but with six weeks left before the election several prominent Democrats still have not publicly thrown their support behind his campaign.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed the Democratic mayoral nominee, whose upset victory in the primary over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent shockwaves through the party, in an interview with Rachel Maddow on Monday night on MSNBC .
“Look, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the Democratic nominee and he should be supported,” Harris said when asked if she would support Mamdani. Maddow followed up by asking directly if she would endorse his candidacy, to which Harris responded: “I support the Democrat in the race, sure.”
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who currently serves in the New York State Assembly, garnered the backing of notable progressive lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York this summer.
Many top Democrats in the state and beyond have been more reluctant to offer similar support. But Harris is among a growing number who have given him their endorsements in recent weeks, with pressure mounting as the race nears an end and President Donald Trump has reportedly sought to consolidate opposition against Mamdani, who holds a commanding lead in the polls.
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Still, several key voices have yet to do the same. So whose support does Mamdani have, and who’s still holding out ahead of the November election?
Who has endorsed Mamdani?
Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent progressive leader in Congress, endorsed Mamdani ahead of the primary election in June in an interview with the New York Times in which she urged voters to prevent Cuomo from regaining power.
“Assemblymember Mamdani has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack,” Ocasio-Cortez told the Times of Mamdani. “In the final stretch of the race, we need to get very real about that.”
Sanders, a progressive independent Senator who was born and raised in Brooklyn, soon followed in Ocasio-Cortez’s footsteps and gave Mamdani an endorsement a week before the primary.
“Our nation faces a fundamental choice: Will we continue with a corporate-dominated politics driven by billionaires or will we build a grass-roots movement fueled by everyday people, committed to fighting oligarchy, authoritarianism and kleptocracy?” Sanders said in a statement, calling Mamdani “visionary.”
Both politicians have since gone on to campaign with Mamdani.
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Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, a former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called Mamdani “an incredible talent” and said that he is “going to be a great mayor for New York City” in July, following his primary victory.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, another leading progressive in Congress, has also offered Mamdani strong support. In early August, she criticized Mayor Eric Adams and Cuomo, who is mounting an independent bid in the general election after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, as “deeply flawed candidates” and joined Mamdani on the campaign trail. She has defended Mamdani’s plan to raise taxes and touted his proposal to enact free universal child care, both issues that Warren herself has campaigned on in the past.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who has sued Trump and his Administration dozens of times and has more recently been the target of a federal investigation, threw her support behind Mamdani before the June primary while other prominent figures in the state remained more wary. She compared Mamdani to former President Barack Obama.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was slower to publicly back Mamdani. Her endorsement came earlier this month in an op-ed for the New York Times, in which she touted Mamdani’s goals of creating neighborhoods where “opportunity is within reach for every family” and his focus on making the city more affordable, which Hochul noted is “a goal I enthusiastically support.”
She also highlighted her alignment with Mamdani on the President, who the mayoral candidate has frequently criticized. “In light of the abhorrent and destructive policies coming out of Washington every day, I needed to know the next mayor will not be someone who would surrender one inch to President Trump,” she said.
New York State Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, another of New York’s most powerful Democrats, endorsed Mamdani two days following Hochul after previously holding out on showing public support for his colleague in the legislature. Heastie in his endorsement said that Mamdani had a “romantic view of what the city can be and should be.”
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Other notable endorsements include that of Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, an influential Latino leader in the city, also endorsed Mamdani that month.
“We need someone that will represent those families that are up against the wall without the ability to breathe, trying to stay in the city they love, and that they grew up in,” Espaillat said while standing next to Mamdani in Manhattan.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, a prominent Jewish leader who had previously endorsed one of Mamdani’s opponents, Scott Stringer, in the Democratic mayoral primary, endorsed Mamdani in June.
“Voters in New York City demanded change and, with Zohran’s triumph, we have a direct repudiation of Donald Trump’s politics of tax cuts and authoritarianism,” said Stringer.
Mamdani has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel’s government and has long advocated for the rights of Palestinians. He has also repeatedly condemned antisemitism and responded to accusations of antisemitism from opponents during the campaign by saying that “it pains me to be painted as if I am somehow in opposition to the very Jewish New Yorkers that I know and love and are such a key part of this city.” Polls have indicated that Mamdani leads among Jewish voters in the city.
He has also received endorsements from Rep. Pat Ryan and Rep. Nydia Velásquez of New York; former Rep. Jamaal Bowman; and New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, as well as many state Senators, assemblymembers, and organizations.
In a statement Tuesday morning responding to Harris’ endorsement, Mamdani celebrated his recent endorsements.
“We’re thrilled by the growing wave of support for our campaign,” said Mamdani. “Over the past few days, I’ve been honored to receive the backing of leaders from across the Democratic Party and Vice President Harris’s support underscores that our fight for affordability is striking a chord not just here in New York, but with Democrats across the country.”
Who still hasn’t?
While Mamdani has now secured the endorsements of a number of notable Democrats, there are still top members of the party who have not given him public support.
Among them: the two most powerful Democrats in Congress, both of whom are also New Yorkers. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have so far declined to endorse Mamdani, though they have each met with the mayoral candidate since his primary win.
Jeffries said he expects to offer his opinions on the race “sooner rather than later,” in a Monday interview on CNN and shifted the conversation to the looming government shutdown in Washington.
Schumer, meanwhile, declined to give a reason for holding off on endorsing Mamdani when pressed by CNN host Dana Bash on Sunday. He did, however, say he would continue conversations with Mamdani ahead of the November general election.
“All I can tell you is, I’m going to continue talking to him,” Schumer said.
The state’s other Senator, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, has also so far not given him her endorsement in the race. Gillibrand has previously spoken about Mamdani’s comments regarding Israel and its war in Gaza, saying in an interview this summer that she had heard from constituents who were “alarmed” by statements he has made. Facing criticism, she later apologized for a false claim she made about his past comments.
Jay Jacobs, the chair of New York’s state Democratic Party, said in a statement to the New York Times last week that he will not back Mamdani due to key differences on Israel and other policy concerns.