New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, wrote in The New York Times on Sunday that she is endorsing Zohran Mamdani, a New York state assemblyman with a long history of denouncing Israel, for New York City mayor, giving the Democratic Socialist his most high-profile backing to date.
“I didn’t leave my conversations with Mr. Mamdani aligned with him on every issue,” she 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.”
Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo, a former New York governor, by more than a dozen points in the Democratic primary and leads a field of three general election opponents.
The Democratic establishment had distanced itself somewhat from Mamdani, who has a history of ties to Jew-hatred and anti-Israel activists, and who is running on a socialist platform in the capitalist center of the country. (Mamdani has also said that he would have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested should the Israeli premier come to the city.)
“In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements,” Hochul wrote. “But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family.”
“I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable, a goal I enthusiastically support,” she wrote.
Hochul wrote that she discussed “the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally” with Mamdani and that she’s “been glad to see him meet with Jewish leaders across the city, listening and addressing their concerns directly.”
Mamdani reportedly met with some 10 Jewish elected officials in New York in July, in an effort organized by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). Mamdani also attended a town hall sponsored by the UJA-Federation of New York and pledged to appoint a senior adviser to tackle Jew-hatred in the city.
He also said that Israel has a right to exist “with equal rights for all.” He didn’t appear to place that condition on any other country.
“The worst governor in America just endorsed the worst candidate for mayor,” stated Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor. “They deserve each other. New Yorkers see through the backroom politics.”
