Chairman of NY Democratic Party declines to endorse Mamdani for NYC mayor

New York Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs on Thursday declined to endorse the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, highlighting his disagreement with the nominee's take on addressing income disparity.

Mamdani, the frontrunner for New York City mayor, rose to prominence this summer after defeating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for their party's nomination. Cuomo is still running for mayor, but now as an independent.

Jacobs said he opposes Mamdani's views on Israel and democratic socialism, along with disagreeing on how to address income disparity in the state. Jacobs' decision comes after New York's Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul did endorse Mamdani.

“Mr. Mamdani and I are in agreement that America’s greatest problem is the continued growth of income disparity in our nation,” Jacobs told The Hill. “On how to address it — we fundamentally disagree.

"Furthermore, I reject the platform of the so-called Democratic Socialists of America and do not believe that it represents the principles, values or policies of the Democratic Party,” he said in a statement also shared with the New York Times.

Other Democratic leaders in New York have also abstained from endorsing Mamdani, despite his popularity in polls, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Both Schumer and Jeffries have met with Mamdani since he won the nomination over the summer but have not endorsed him.

Mamdani is leading Cuomo by 22% in a poll released last week. Mamdani scored 46% of the vote, while Cuomo raked in 24%. Republican NYC mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa is third with 15%, while incumbent NYC Mayor Eric Adams garnered 9% support.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.