Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin endorses Zohran Mamdani in NYC mayoral race

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin on Friday endorsed Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate in New York City's mayoral race, just weeks before Election Day.

“He is running to make New York more accessible for everyone and has gained national attention with his incredible campaign,” said Martin, who was elected to his position by fellow Democrats earlier this year. wrote in a post on X. “Vote for Zoran this November!”

The endorsement comes after other national Democrats, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, and New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, have already done so. refused to support Mamdani.

In September, months after Mamdani won the November general election in the June primary, New York's Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed him.

IN New York Times articleHochul noted that while she and Mamdani “had their differences,” they shared similar goals, such as making New York more accessible to residents.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was the Democratic presidential nominee in last year's presidential election, also offered lukewarm approval Mamdani told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow last month: “Look, as far as I'm concerned, he's the Democratic candidate and he should be supported.”

Democrats have been slow to support Mamdani, who calls himself a “democratic socialist” and is campaigning on a progressive political agenda in New York that includes free city buses, higher taxes on New York's wealthiest residents and a rent freeze on some housing units in the city.

In June he defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo to win the Democratic nomination after Cuomo had been considered the front-runner in the Democratic primary for months.

Just weeks after his defeat, Cuomo launched an independent campaign for mayor, but there's an uphill climb ahead to victory according to recent opinion polls, with only three weeks left until Election Day.

In an interview with 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 a “fringe.”

“You know, it's apples and oranges. We couldn't be more different. I am a mainstream Democrat. He's a fringe Democrat,” Cuomo said.

In the same interview, Cuomo said he would welcome the support of incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who ran an independent campaign for mayor earlier this year, as Cuomo sought to build a coalition of voters opposing Mamdani.

When Adams dropped out of school Cuomo's campaign saw a surge in the polls last month, but one recent poll still had Mamdani leading the race by 13 percentage points, well above the poll's margin of error.

One of the issues that has marred Cuomo's re-entry campaign is the multiple allegations of sexual harassment that led him to resign from the post of governor in 2021. The former governor denied the allegations.

In an interview with Meet the Press NOW, Cuomo said the allegations were “political allegations” that had “nothing to do with anything.”

“Overall, I've 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? Of course,” he added.

Republicans have also tried to attack Mamdani, with President Donald Trump calling him a “communist.”

Trump threatened to withdraw some federal funding from New York if Mamdani was elected and did not “do the right thing.”

“But let's put it this way: if he gets in, I'll be president and he'll have to do the right thing or they won't get the money, he'll have to do the right thing,” the president said. said Fox News' Maria Bartiromo in June.

IN June interview on 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 by telling Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker that “I've already had to start getting used to it, getting used to the fact that the president is going to talk about what I look like, what I sound like, where I'm from, who I am, ultimately, because he wants to take his mind off what I stand for. and I am fighting for the very working people he campaigned for.” expand the possibilities so that he has since betrayed.”