By NBC News
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday endorsed the Democratic nominee in the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani.
Despite their “areas of principled disagreement … Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement to The New York Times on Friday.
“In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election,” Jeffries added.
The endorsement comes after Jeffries has dodged questions about whether he’d endorse Mamdani since the state assemblyman surprised his party in June when he won the Democratic nomination for mayor outright, beating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo has since launched an independent campaign for mayor, hoping to beat Mamdani and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in next month’s general election.
Jeffries, for months, demurred when asked why he hadn’t endorsed a candidate in the general election for mayor.
Earlier this week, on Sunday, Jeffries told ABC News’ “This Week” that he and Mamdani have had some “good conversations”…READ MORE
