Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin endorses Zahran Mamdani in New York City mayoral race
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin on Friday announced his endorsement of Zahran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in the New York City mayoral race, just weeks before Election Day.
“He strives to make New York City accessible to everyone and has captured the nation’s attention with his incredible campaign,” said Martin, whose fellow Democrats elected him to office earlier this year. books In a post on X. “Go vote for Zahran in November!”
The endorsement comes as other national Democrats, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, and New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, have so far declined to endorse Mamdani.
In September, months after Mamdani advanced to the general election in November in a June primary, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed him.
in New York Times editorialHochul noted that while she and Mamdani have differences, they also share similar goals, such as making New York City more accessible to residents.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in last year’s presidential election, also offered a lukewarm endorsement of Mamdani last month, telling MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow: “Look, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the Democratic nominee and he should be supported.”
Democrats have been slow to endorse Mamdani, a self-described “democratic socialist” who campaigned on a progressive policy agenda for New York City that includes making the city’s buses free, raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and freezing rent for some city housing units.
In June, he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic nomination after Cuomo had been viewed as the front-runner in the Democratic primary for months.
Just weeks after his defeat, Cuomo launched an independent campaign for mayor, but faces an uphill climb to victory based on recent polls, with just three weeks remaining before Election Day.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press Now” earlier this month, Cuomo said he and Mamdani were like “apples and oranges” and called the Democratic mayoral candidate “fringe.”
“You know, it’s apples and oranges. We couldn’t be more different. I’m a mainstream Democrat. He’s a fringe Democrat,” Cuomo said.
In the same interview, Cuomo said he would welcome an endorsement by incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who ran an independent campaign for mayor earlier this year, as Cuomo sought to build a coalition of anti-Mamdani voters.
When Adams dropped out of the race last month, Cuomo’s campaign saw a bump in the polls, but a recent poll still had Mamdani leading the race by 13 percentage points, well beyond the poll’s margin of error.
One issue that has marred Cuomo’s comeback campaign is multiple sexual harassment allegations that prompted him to resign as governor in 2021. The former governor has denied the allegations.
In an interview with “Meet the Press Now,” Cuomo said the allegations were “political allegations” and had nothing to do with it.
He added: “In general, have I learned to be more careful, honestly? Just don’t put yourself in a situation where anyone can say anything, where you always have a witness? Absolutely.”
Republicans also sought to attack Mamdani, with President Donald Trump calling him a “communist.”
Trump threatened to withdraw some federal funding from New York City if Mamdani is elected and does not “do the right thing.”
“But let’s say this: If he comes to power, I will be president, and he will have to do the right thing or they won’t get any money. He has to do the right thing,” he added. He said Fox News Maria Bartiromo in June.
In a June interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Mamdani defended himself by saying, “I’m not” a communist.
In the same interview, Mamdani said billionaires shouldn’t exist, and responded to Trump’s attacks, telling “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker: “I’ve already had to get used to the fact that the president is going to talk about what I look like, what I look like, where I’m from, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to distract from what I’m fighting for, and I’m fighting for the working people who ran a campaign.” To empower them.” So he’s been betrayed ever since.