The Democrats Who Refuse to Back Mamdani Are Sending a Scary Message

Many politicians have endorsed Mamdani. “The people have spoken,” Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who has represented a Bronx district since 2017, said in endorsing Mamdani in July. Mamdani has subsequently been endorsed by a number of key labor unions and, as of late August, one-third of the City Council. And other Democrats are lining up behind Mamdani for the simple reason that he won the most votes in the Democratic primary and will likely be the city’s next mayor.

But why aren’t New York’s most powerful Democrats backing him? Jeffries has offered tempered praise of Mamdani’s campaign, particularly the candidate’s message of making the city more affordable. But, like Schumer, Jeffries has abstained from a full endorsement, citing Mamdani’s criticism of Israel. Kathy Hochul, the state’s governor, has similarly offered praise for Mamdani’s campaign but stopped short of fully endorsing. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the state’s other U.S. senator, found herself in hot water earlier this summer when she suggested that Mamdani had “made references to global jihad,” in a radio interview. She quickly apologized—Mamdani had said no such thing, and her comments were clearly racist—but nonetheless has not endorsed him. Only a handful of sitting members of Congress have done so—though this is less surprising, given that it’s a local election, albeit in the nation’s most populous city.

Why the hesitation? Perhaps it’s because of the media-concocted controversy over the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which Mamdani has never said (contra some news reports) but also refused to condemn. He has provided a nuanced explanation of his stance, and eventually said he would discourage use of the term, but apparently that’s not sufficient. Mamdani has been critical of Israel, and thus has been wrongly branded as antisemitic—just the excuse centrists like Schumer and Jeffries need to stay on the sidelines in the mayoral race.