- New York Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor
- Mamdani defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary with a socialist platform
- Mamdani's policies include rent freezes, free childcare, and city-run grocery stores
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has endorsed Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, a key affirmation for the 33-year-old frontrunner whose candidacy hasn't yet been fully embraced by members of his own party.
"Tonight I am endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani," Hochul wrote in an opinion piece published by the New York Times on Sunday.
"Zohran Mamdani and I will both be fearless in confronting the president's extreme agenda - with urgency, conviction, and the defiance that defines New York," she wrote.
The decision is a blow to incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, both of whom are running against Mamdani - a democratic socialist - in the general election on independent ballot lines. Bloomberg has reported that Adams is weighing the future of his campaign as polls show him consistently in fourth place behind Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani shocked the city's establishment by rising from relative obscurity to defeat Cuomo in the Democratic primary. He campaigned on sweeping affordability measures, including freezing rents for millions of New Yorkers, offering free child care and establishing city-run grocery stores.
His bold platform has unnerved Wall Street and business leaders, however, because he plans to raise corporate and wealth taxes to help fund it. But any increases in taxes or debt would require state approval, and Hochul has said she doesn't want to raise levies. President Donald Trump has frequently disparaged Mamdani, once calling him a "communist lunatic."
Hochul said in her piece Sunday that she and Mamdani have had their "disagreements" and that she has emphasized to him the importance of ensuring strong leadership at the helm of the New York Police Department and that officers get whatever resources they need to keep the city safe. She also discussed with him the need to combat antisemitism urgently.
"I'm grateful to the Governor for her support in unifying our party," Mamdani said in a statement Sunday. "I look forward to fighting alongside her to continue her track record of putting money back in New Yorkers' pockets," he said.
Mamdani's candidacy has been met with a tepid reception from several top figures in his own party beyond Hochul. Neither of the New York's Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, nor House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents a district in New York City, have publicly endorsed him.
"I didn't leave my conversations with him aligned on every issue," Hochul wrote. "But I am confident that he has the courage, urgency and optimism New York City needs to lead it through the challenges of this moment."
Republican lawmaker Elise Stefanik, who is weighing her own bid for New York governor, blasted Hochul's decision to endorse Mamdani.
"At the exact moment when New Yorkers are looking for strong leadership from their Governor with a majority opposing Zohran Mamdani, Kathy Hochul embraces this raging Communist who will destroy New York," Stefanik said in a statement.
