Democrat Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey refused to endorse New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani when questioned by a CNN reporter on Sunday.
Mamdani, a self-avowed socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in last month’s Democratic mayoral primary, but has struggled to gain the explicit endorsement of prominent Democrats. Days earlier, Booker excoriated his fellow Democrats on the Senate floor for not doing enough to “fight” President Donald Trump and failing to “stand together” as a party.
“I‘m wondering if part of the issue with your party, do you think, is not embracing enough of the energy on the left flank of your party?” CNN host Manu Raju asked Booker. “He’s the Democratic candidate, democratic socialist candidate there. Democratic leaders are not supporting him. Is that a problem? Do you support him?”
“This is not a left-right issue,” Booker initially said, sidestepping the question about Mamdani. He emphasized that “the lines that divide us in America are not nearly as strong as the ties that bind us.”
When pressed further, Booker declined to endorse Mamdani.
“I have learned a long time ago, let New York politics be New York politics. We got enough challenges in Jersey. I got a governor‘s race, I’m supporting Mikie Sherrill. I got legislative races. That‘s where my energy is going to go, going into November,” Booker said. “New York City, I love you. You’re my neighbor. You’re about 10 miles from where I live. You guys figure out your elections. I’m going to focus on mine.”
Mamdani has drawn criticism for his far-left positions, particularly concerning the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The mayoral candidate has endorsed boycotts against Israel, participated in rallies held by a radical anti-Israel group and previously failed to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which is widely seen as a call for violence against Jews.
The socialist upstart has also faced scrutiny for his anti-police rhetoric and his repeated calls to defund the New York Police Department (NYPD). In 2020, following the death of George Floyd, Mamdani described the NYPD as “racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety.”
However, following a fatal shooting on July 28 in New York City that killed four people, including an NYPD officer, Mamdani stated that his earlier statements were “clearly out of step” with his current views.
Booker joins other Democrats, such as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, as well as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who have avoided explicitly endorsing Mamdani.
Last Tuesday, Booker objected to bipartisan police funding bills proposed by Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Catherine Cortez-Masto and Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, accusing his Democratic colleagues of enabling the Trump administration’s policies.
“The Democratic Party was about to give Donald Trump tens of millions of dollars when he has already told the Democratic Party, ‘I’m not gonna let blue states have this,’” Booker told reporters after his floor speech. “Democrats need to learn to fight and fight him and stop him from hurting people.”
“When are we going to stand together if we don’t stand as Democrats,” Booker continued. “We deserve to lose.”
Neither Booker nor Mamdani responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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