Gov. Kathy Hochul endorses Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor

VICTOR J. BLUE / NEW YORK TIMES

Democratic nominee for mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, waves as he walks with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), right, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, wearing a blue blazer, during a Labor Day parade in New York on Sept. 6.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, on Sunday night in a guest essay in The New York Times Opinion section, providing critical support ahead of the November election.

Hochul’s endorsement, after months of deliberation, is the latest sign that Democratic leaders who have been skeptical of Mamdani’s leftist views are beginning to coalesce around him.

Hochul and Mamdani represent divergent sectors of their party. She is a moderate who recently declared herself a lover of capitalism, vowed not to raise taxes and supports Israel. He is a democratic socialist who wants higher taxes on the richest New Yorkers and is highly critical of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.

The two leaders also have vastly different life stories: Hochul, 67, is from Buffalo and patiently rose through her party’s ranks; Mamdani, 33, was born in Uganda and grew up in Manhattan and surprised the political world with his victory in the Democratic primary in June.

Hochul said in her essay that she had been talking to Mamdani for months and that they had some disagreements.

“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,” she wrote. “I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support.”

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Mamdani thanked Hochul for her support and said she had “made affordability the centerpiece of her work.”

“There’s so much work left to do, and our movement is only growing stronger,” he said.

Hochul and Mamdani are both focused on addressing the affordability crisis in the state and the city and could each benefit from their new alliance. Hochul is up for reelection next year, and she is facing a primary challenge from her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.

If Mamdani is elected, he could help protect her left flank, but also prove a liability in the general election, where she could face Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican and a strong supporter of President Donald Trump.

Stefanik said in a statement that Hochul now must own “every radical position” Mamdani has supported, including his past support for defunding the police.

“As I always said, it was only a matter of time before the worst governor in America, Kathy Hochul, would bend the knee to the communist antisemite Zohran Mamdani,” she said.

Mamdani is a democratic socialist, not a communist, and has denied accusations that he is antisemitic. He has spoken frequently about expanding the city’s efforts to protect Jewish New Yorkers and combat antisemitism if he is elected.

Mamdani is leading in the polls, but some prominent Democrats have not yet endorsed him, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leaders in the U.S. Senate and House. His rivals, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, have argued that Mamdani is too far to the left and too inexperienced.

Hochul’s endorsement could help prove that establishment Democrats view Mamdani as someone they can work with. If Mamdani wins, he will need Hochul to help enact his ambitious agenda. Mamdani has pledged to implement free buses and universal child care, among other programs, and will need help from state lawmakers to pay for them.

Hochul has a fraught history with Cuomo. He picked her as his running mate for lieutenant governor in 2014, and she became governor after Cuomo resigned in 2021 after a series of sexual harassment allegations that he has denied. Hochul called Cuomo’s behavior “repulsive” after the state attorney general found that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. He has been highly critical of her tenure.

Hochul’s decision to endorse Mamdani was a blow to his more moderate political opponents, who have worked to stop Democratic Party leaders from backing him to try to clear a path to his defeat. It will also put her at odds with many of her own donors in real estate and finance, who view Mamdani as a direct threat to their businesses and are organizing to defeat him.

Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent and is in fourth place in the polls, has been weighing whether to exit the race. Close associates of Trump discussed offering him an ambassadorship to Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reported.

Trump has said that he wants to stop Mamdani and would prefer for Cuomo to face him in a two-person race.

Hochul said recently that Trump should not meddle in the race.

“Contrary to what the president thinks, he’s not a king, he’s not a kingmaker, and he should not be anointing the next mayor of New York City,” Hochul said.

Hochul wrote in the essay that she and Mamdani were united in opposing Trump’s policies that hurt the city, including cuts to Medicaid and food assistance.

“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 said.

Then she added in an apparent reference to Trump’s efforts to help Cuomo: “Anyone who accepts his tainted influence, or benefits from it, is compromised from the start.”

Edward F. Cox, the Republican state chair, said in a statement that Hochul had endorsed “an avowed communist” for mayor, repeating a claim made by Trump. He said that New Yorkers were leaving the state over her failed policies.

Sliwa’s campaign criticized Hochul and Mamdani in a statement, saying, “They deserve each other.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2025 The New York Times Company

See more:National newsPolitics

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