U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat urged the Democratic establishment to rally behind the party’s mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani after endorsing him. Thursday, July 10, 2025.
Photo by Ethan Stark-Miller
On the heels of endorsing Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in the mayoral general election, U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan/Bronx) on Thursday urged fellow Democrats who have been hesitant to back the democratic socialist to get on board with his campaign for City Hall.
Espaillat, during a Thursday afternoon Washington Heights press conference alongside Mamdani, said New York’s Democrats must unite behind the Assembly member in the face of looming threats from President Trump’s administration. He and Mamdani were joined by two of his close allies, Council Members Shaun Abreu and Carmen De La Rosa, who also endorsed Mamdani.
The Congress member, who is throwing his support behind Mamdani after endorsing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary, said it is clear from the state lawmaker’s nearly 13 point primary win that he is Big Apple Democrats’ preferred choice.
“We’ve had our primary, we’ve had our election, and the people have spoken,” Espaillat said. “And the Democrats have spoken, and they have said clearly that they have selected Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani to be our nominee of the Democratic Party.”
In addition to Cuomo, Espaillat has been a close ally of incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running an independent campaign in the November general election after staying out of the Democratic primary. Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, Jim Walden, an attorney running as an independent, and possibly Cuomo, who also has an independent line, are all on the general election ballot as well.
Espaillat’s comments appeared to be aimed at swaying other establishment Democrats, who still have reservations about Mamdani’s democratic socialist ideology and his criticism of Israel, to embrace him as the party’s nominee. Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are among those who have complimented Mamdani on his primary win but have stopped short of endorsing him.
Espaillat said he “cannot speak” for why some of his colleagues in Congress have been ambivalent about declaring for Mamdani, but that he will “do everything that I can do to get him elected.”
Mamdani reflected on his own conversations with Hochul, Schumer, and Jeffries since his primary win. He said the conversations have centered on his campaign’s focus on affordability, as well as efforts to counter President Trump’s attacks— including threats to arrest him and revoke his citizenship.
“They have been conversations that have been productive, they have been conversations that I’ve enjoyed, they have been conversations that always have focused on the importance of affordability,” Mamdani said. “What I’ve appreciated is that amidst that focus, these same leaders have pushed back against Donald Trump’s attempts to sneer me, to slander me, to threaten me, and they have done so without hesitation.”
Espaillat’s call for Democrats to rally behind Mamdani comes just days after former Gov. David Paterson joined political and business leaders opposed to a Mamdani mayoralty in urging the other candidates to unite behind a single contender with a stronger chance of defeating the Assembly member.
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