Democratic New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez blasted party leadership on Wednesday for largely failing to get behind avowed socialist and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 New York City mayoral race.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have yet to endorse Mamdani’s campaign for mayor in their own city despite the democratic socialist being the party’s official candidate for mayor and leading in general election polling. Ocasio-Cortez, a rumored 2028 presidential candidate who serves as a de facto leader of the Democratic Party’s leftward flank, has lambasted her fellow New Yorkers for dragging their feet on endorsing Mamdani.
“I am very concerned about the example that is being set by anybody in our party — in that, I believe that we must set the example of supporting the party’s nominee,” Ocasio-Cortez, whose district is entirely located within New York City, told reporters regarding Jeffries and Schumer staying mum on a Mamdani endorsement. “If an individual doesn’t want to support the party’s nominee now, it complicates their ability to ask voters to support any nominee later, whether that is mayoral, presidential, what have you.”
“And so I think for the good of the party, we must put our differences aside and support our party’s nominee,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.
Schumer, who has kept Mamdani at arm’s length since the socialist defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary contest, told reporters Wednesday that he plans to meet the mayoral candidate soon.
Ocasio-Cortez sharply criticized Schumer in March after he chose to supply the requisite number of votes for a GOP spending bill that averted a partial government shutdown. In addition to running for president, the left-wing firebrand has also been floated as a potential primary challenger when Schumer is up for reelection in 2028.
Jeffries, who like Ocasio-Cortez also represents a New York City district that Mamdani will also oversee if elected mayor in November, has also avoided giving a straightforward answer about where he stands on Mamdani’s campaign.
“What’s taking you so long to support him [Mamdani]? What do you need to hear from him to get behind the nominee from your party?” a reporter asked Jeffries during the lead House Democrat’s weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“Stay tuned,” Jeffries told the room full of reporters.
National Republicans, who see Mamdani’s candidacy as a gift to GOP candidates during the 2026 midterms, are expected to torch Jeffries and Schumer for backing a socialist candidate if they issue an endorsement.
“It is now not a question of if, but when ‘Leader’ Jeffries will cave to the radical, socialist mob,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement.
Spokespersons for Jeffries and Schumer did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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