Chuck Schumer Meets With Mamdani but Doesn’t Endorse Him

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he met with Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, but declined to make a formal endorsement.

Mamdani, who won the mayoral primary by 12 percentage points over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has struggled to gain high-profile endorsements from congressional leaders despite mounting pressure from their progressive colleagues.

“We had a good meeting,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol. “We know each other well, and we’re going to keep talking.”

The meeting came just days after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of Mamdani’s earliest backers, called on members of her party to “put our differences aside” and support the Democratic nominee.

“I am very concerned about the example that is being set by anybody in our party,” she said Wednesday. “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.”

Mamdani has also struggled to get an official endorsement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — who met with the 33-year-old democratic socialist twice this summer but has still not publicly backed him.

“The meeting between Leader Jeffries and Assemblyman Mamdani was constructive, candid and community-centered, with a particular focus on affordability,” Jeffries spokesperson Justin Chermol said in July.

As for the rest of New York’s congressional delegation, Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler, Nydia Velázquez and Adriano Espaillat have endorsed Mamdani. Rep. Yvette Clarke has also signaled her support, but stopped short of a full endorsement.

“I’m a Democrat, and I’m inclined to support the Democratic candidate,” Clarke told NOTUS in July. “The message is Democratic unity.”

Rep. Dan Goldman, meanwhile, has said he won’t endorse Mamdani until the candidate takes “concrete steps” to assuage the fears from Jewish New Yorkers concerned with a rise in antisemitism. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has also not endorsed Mamdani, and was forced to apologize after she falsely claimed in a radio interview earlier this summer that he made “references to global jihad.”

Reps. Gregory Meeks and Grace Meng have yet to weigh in.

Zohran Mamdani takes part in the 2025 NYC Pride March along Fifth Avenue. Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire/AP Images

Mamdani is currently embroiled in a four-way race between himself, Cuomo, incumbent mayor Eric Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

A New York Times/Siena University poll published Tuesday found that 46% of likely voters back Mamdani. His support spans racial and ethnic groups, but is especially strong among young and highly educated voters.

By comparison, 24% of voters said they would support Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the primary; 15% of voters would support Sliwa; and 9% for Adams, who is also running as an independent.

Adams was rumored to be in talks with the White House over a possible position with President Donald Trump’s administration, but at a press conference Friday he denied the speculation, saying he has no intentions of dropping out of the race.

“I am in this race,” Adams said at the press conference. “And I am the only one who can beat Mamdani.”

—
This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS and The City.