Hochul Endorses Communist Antisemite Zohran Mamdani for NYC Mayor After Months of Ambivalence

New York Governor Kathy Hochul officially backed Democratic nominee and antisemitic communist Zohran Mamdani Sunday evening, in a post to X.

Sources told the New York Post around an hour before her announcement that it was expected this week.

“New York City deserves a mayor who will stand up to Donald Trump and make life more affordable for New Yorkers,” she wrote.

Hochul’s team had previously kept some distance from the candidate, who has praised Hamas, threatened to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should he visit the city, and until very recently backed completely defunding the police.

The Uganda-born candidate who became a US citizen only a few years ago has yet to receive the backing of other party elites, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Mamdani has held a lead in polls since clinching the Democratic nomination in June, maintaining momentum in a crowded mayoral race.

Hochul’s support for Mamdani could stir controversy in suburban areas where he remains very unpopular; key regions that the governor needs to hold on to for reelection. Republicans in Nassau County have already used Mamdani as a cautionary tale and point of attack against Democrats.

The move echoes Hochul’s previous caution in 2021, when she did not endorse Democratic Socialist India Walton after Walton won the Buffalo mayoral primary against incumbent Byron Brown, who ultimately won re-election as a write-in candidate.

Hochul faced growing pressure from progressive factions to support Mamdani, particularly as she approaches her own re-election bid next year, with the possibility of a left-leaning challenger in a Democratic primary.

“She needs to get the city vote out to survive. It’s toxic for Hochul in the suburbs,” the Democratic Party official said.