As self-proclaimed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani heads for the general election in the race for New York City mayor, he’s seeking to foster relationships with national Democrats in Washington.
Mamdani, a Democrat in the New York state Assembly who won his party’s primary for mayor on June 24, has garnered the support of some national Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Ocasio-Cortez hosted a breakfast for him Wednesday in Washington so that other leaders on the Left could “get to know him,” she told reporters. While some Democrats in Washington have been eager to give Mamdani their stamp of approval, others are not hitching their wagons to him just yet.
Mamdani’s base of Democrat support in Washington continues to grow:
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Sanders first endorsed Mamdani on June 17, a week before the mayoral primary election. Another self-avowed democratic socialist, Sanders has posted multiple times on X campaigning for Mamdani, saying, “We must do everything we can to get him elected.”
Mamdani called Sanders “the single most influential political figure” in his lifetime in a June post on the social media platform X.
Rep. Nydia Velasquez, D-N.Y.
“Great meeting!” were the first words Velasquez said as she stepped out of the breakfast. The Democrat New Yorker told reporters, “It’s just beautiful to have someone who is so authentic. … Money cannot buy that.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
Nadler gave brief remarks after the breakfast, saying that the meeting “went well” as he departed. When asked by reporters whether he thought Mamdani “won anyone over,” Nadler replied, “Yes.”
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.
Takano appeared so won over by the breakfast that he told reporters Mamdani wasn’t a socialist. “The overall impression on me was, this guy is not a communist, he’s not a socialist—he’s an advocate for ‘small-c’ capitalism. … He really is fighting for the little business guy that’s trying to eke out a living in New York. … I thought that was a tremendous message.”
Takano appeared hopeful about the success of the breakfast: “There were a lot of other senior members of Congress in that room who I think are very curious about [Mamdani]. … They’ve seen a lot of social media and think it is really quite penetrating and brilliant.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
Jayapal also spoke to reporters after the breakfast, giving Mamdani glowing reviews: “Anybody that’s staying out at this point instead of endorsing this incredible, dynamic leader is missing an opportunity. … I think it’s hard not to be won over, because it’s the combination of his authenticity, his smart[s], and his commitment to lifting up working people and making life better for real folks that is really inspiring and not always easy to find.”
Jayapal had endorsed Mamdani before the Democrat primary election.
Other Democrats have hesitated to fully embrace Mamdani—and many of them are fellow New Yorkers:
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Schumer’s potential endorsement of Mamdani has been on the line for some weeks. When asked by reporters during a press briefing if he would endorse the socialist, the Senate minority leader gave a noncommittal response: “I’ll be meeting with him, but had a good conversation. He’s run a good campaign. I’ll be meeting with him.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
The House minority leader has publicly expressed his hesitation about Mamdani’s initial refusal to condemn the phrase “Globalize the Intifada.” Jeffries told ABC News during an interview, “‘Globalizing the Intifada,’ by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase, and he’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward.”
Jeffries represents many Jewish people in his New York district and mentioned that as a specific concern. “I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” he said.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Four years ago, when Eric Adams won the Democrat mayoral primary for New York City, Pelosi invited him to Washington to speak before the House Democratic Caucus and welcomed him to President Joe Biden’s White House, according to CNN. The San Francisco congresswoman had no social media post congratulating Mamdani on his victory, as Schumer did, and has been conspicuously silent on any form of endorsement of him.
Adams will be running as an independent against Mamdani in the general election.
Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y.
Another concerned New Yorker, Gillen has been vocal about her objections to Mamdani, calling him “too extreme to lead New York City” and the “absolute wrong choice for New York,” according to Newsweek.
Gillen told Newsweek she was also concerned about Mamdani’s reputed antisemitism: “Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments, which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing.”
Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y.
Suozzi voiced his alarm about the socialist mayoral candidate immediately after the Democrat primary. He wrote on X: “I had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before yesterday, and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent. Those concerns remain.”
