By: Abe Wertenheim

In a political twist that has rattled both allies and adversaries, Governor Kathy Hochul on Sunday night delivered a stunning endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, the Queens assemblyman and democratic socialist who captured the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor. Published in the form of a guest essay in The New York Times, Hochul’s announcement signaled a sharp break from months of studied distance and internal hesitation — and immediately ignited a storm of reactions across the city and state.

The endorsement, first foreshadowed in a report on Sunday in The New York Post, marks a watershed moment in the mayoral campaign, lending institutional Democratic backing to a figure whose rise has been fueled more by grassroots activism and insurgent energy than by traditional party infrastructure. It also underscores the mounting pressures faced by Hochul as she navigates her own reelection campaign in 2026, balancing between a restless progressive base and the wary skepticism of suburban moderates.

Hochul’s essay was unambiguous in its language. “The question of who will be the next mayor is one I take extremely seriously and to which I have devoted a great deal of thought,” she wrote. “Tonight I am endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.”

The governor acknowledged frank disagreements with Mamdani, but insisted that their conversations revealed a leader aligned with her broader vision for New York. “In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements,” Hochul admitted. “But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family.”

She emphasized affordability, public safety, and combatting antisemitism as areas of alignment, stressing that New York City requires a mayor “focused on making life more affordable for New Yorkers” while providing “strong leadership at the helm of the NYPD.”

On social media, Hochul condensed her support into a sharply worded message: “New York City deserves a mayor who will stand up to Donald Trump and make life more affordable for New Yorkers. That’s @ZohranKMamdani.”

Mamdani responded swiftly with gratitude, positioning Hochul’s endorsement as a pivotal step toward party unity. “I’m grateful for the Governor’s support in unifying our party, her resolve in standing up to Trump, and her focus on making New York affordable. I look forward to the great work we will accomplish together,” he posted on X. “Our movement is only growing stronger.”

The 33-year-old lawmaker, who has often been portrayed as a firebrand unwilling to temper his rhetoric, seized upon the governor’s nod as evidence that the Democratic establishment can no longer marginalize his campaign.

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, insiders view Hochul’s endorsement as a green light for other Democrats who have thus far resisted embracing Mamdani, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“This puts tremendous pressure on Jeffries and everyone who hasn’t endorsed Mamdani yet,” one Democratic strategist told The Post. “Hochul is the ultimate bellwether of where the New York Democratic Party’s center is. She’s shown she will push back when needed against the left but this shifts the center of gravity definitively.”

If Schumer and Jeffries follow Hochul’s lead, the mayoral contest may enter an entirely new phase — with the Democratic establishment coalescing, however reluctantly, around a nominee who makes corporate donors and suburban moderates deeply uneasy.

For Hochul, the decision is fraught with political peril. As The New York Post report emphasized, Mamdani remains unpopular in suburban counties such as Nassau, Westchester, and Suffolk, where voters are wary of his ties to the Democratic Socialists of America and his controversial positions on Israel. Republicans in Nassau have already begun leveraging Mamdani’s candidacy as a cudgel against their Democratic rivals.

The governor’s decision contrasts with her refusal to endorse India Walton, the democratic socialist who upset Buffalo’s incumbent mayor Byron Brown in 2021. Then, Hochul opted for caution, declining to associate herself with a candidate she deemed too polarizing. Brown ultimately triumphed as a write-in candidate.

Why, then, the reversal in 2025? Political analysts cited by The Post argue that Hochul’s calculations are shaped by her own precarious standing. Facing reelection in 2026, she confronts unpopularity in suburban and upstate regions. A Democratic official told The Post: “She needs to get the city vote out to survive. It’s toxic for Hochul in the suburbs.” By tying herself to Mamdani, Hochul is betting that progressive turnout in New York City will offset potential suburban backlash.

Another layer of intrigue involves Hochul’s former boss, Andrew Cuomo, who is also a candidate in the mayoral race. A party source confided to The Post that part of Hochul’s motivation was to block Cuomo’s resurgence: “She wants to stop Andrew Cuomo, him being mayor during her reelection is not anything she wants to see happen.”

By boosting Mamdani, Hochul weakens Cuomo’s pathway, though at the potential cost of energizing Republicans. One strategist warned: “This will obviously be a boon for the Republicans.”

Predictably, Republicans wasted no time pouncing on the endorsement. Curtis Sliwa, the GOP nominee for mayor, branded Hochul and Mamdani as two sides of the same coin. “The worst governor in America just endorsed the worst candidate for mayor. They deserve each other,” Sliwa campaign spokesperson Daniel Kurzyna said in a statement carried by The New York Post. “New Yorkers see through the backroom politics and know Curtis Sliwa is fighting for them, not the insiders.”

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, widely viewed as a potential challenger to Hochul in the 2026 gubernatorial race, unleashed even harsher rhetoric. “As I always said, it was only a matter of time before the Worst Governor in America Kathy Hochul would bend the knee to the Communist Antisemite Zohran Mamdani,” she declared.

Stefanik accused Hochul of endorsing every radical plank of Mamdani’s platform, including “defunding the police, releasing violent criminals, closing local small businesses in favor of government grocery stores, massive tax hikes, abolishing border law enforcement, and every heinous pro-Hamas antisemitic position.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman went further, framing the endorsement as a betrayal of American values. “Governor Hochul’s endorsement of Communist and antisemite Mamdani for Mayor of NYC is a betrayal of all the freedom loving residents of New York State,” Blakeman said. “Both my parents were World War II veterans and they would be embarrassed to have a Governor of their state embrace such an anti-American candidate. We will never forget her treachery.”

The endorsement has also sharpened tensions among Jewish lawmakers and communities, particularly in Brooklyn. As The New York Post report highlighted, Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” and his outspoken support for the BDS movement against Israel have generated profound unease among Jewish New Yorkers.

Brooklyn Councilman Simcha Felder declared flatly, “I would not consider supporting her [Hochul] either!” Assemblyman Simcha Eisenstein was equally incredulous: “Wait, did he [Mamdani] address the fears and concerns on what it’s like to be a visible Jew in New York City in 2025? Did I miss it?”

Their remarks emphasize the potential for Hochul’s endorsement to alienate a segment of the Democratic coalition that has traditionally wielded significant influence in city politics.

At the same time, Hochul has faced unrelenting pressure from progressives to fall in line behind Mamdani. Many activists warned that withholding support would invite a primary challenge from the left in 2026, potentially jeopardizing Hochul’s political future. Radio host and supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, a Republican, speculated to The New York Post that Hochul’s decision reflected weakness rather than conviction: “She has no balls. They probably threatened her. I think they threatened her with a primary. I think she didn’t want to get a primary.”

Political operatives interviewed by The New York Post described the endorsement as a double-edged sword. Democratic consultant Ken Frydman noted that a Mamdani endorsement in return would “help her in New York City, but hurt in mid-state, upstate and in downstate suburbs. Hochul’s scared to death of the DSA tag and should be.”

Michael Henry, a Republican contender for attorney general, dismissed Hochul’s move as a cynical calculation. “He’s 33 and he’s never had a real job. Just admit you are endorsing him out of fear,” Henry tweeted.

With Hochul’s endorsement now on record, the Democratic Party in New York enters a volatile new phase. If Schumer and Jeffries follow her lead, Mamdani will have secured the imprimatur of the state’s most powerful figures — transforming him from a left-wing insurgent into the establishment’s candidate, at least on paper.

Yet the risks remain glaring. Suburban Democrats will be forced to defend an increasingly radicalized image of the party, while Republicans will hammer home the narrative of “Hochul-Mamdani twins” in mailers, ads, and stump speeches. Meanwhile, Jewish constituencies alarmed by Mamdani’s record may break further from the Democratic coalition, as Orthodox leaders already signal reluctance to support Hochul.

In this high-wire act, Hochul has gambled that aligning herself with Mamdani ensures progressive enthusiasm in New York City, staves off a primary challenge, and sidelines Andrew Cuomo. Whether that gamble pays off — or costs her suburban moderates and Jewish support — will shape the trajectory of New York politics for years to come.

As The New York Post report indicated, the governor’s move is nothing short of a bombshell, one that redefines the center of gravity within New York’s Democratic Party and sets the stage for a bruising general election.