Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic Minority leader from Brooklyn, is in discussions to endorse lefty Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani for mayor, sources said Sunday.
“Both Hakeem and I have been in conversations with Mamdani and [adviser] Patrick Gaspard about a possible endorsement,” Rev. Al Sharpton told The Post.
Gaspard, the former ambassador to South Africa and political director to ex President Barack Obama, has emerged as key adviser to Mamdani with key constituencies and business leaders in the city, particularly in the black community.
Jeffries himself teased a potential Mamdani endorsement, when asked about the mayor’s race during an appearance on Al Sharpton’s MSNBC’s PoliticsNation show Saturday night.
“What I will say is, as you pointed out, you know, Gov. Hochul endorsed last Sunday. Speaker Carl Heastie endorsed [Mamdani] on Wednesday,” Jeffries said.
“He got a big endorsement today, you know, from a close friend of mine, the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman [Yvette] Clarke. I’ll have more to say about the Mayor’s race sometime soon,” added Jeffries.
A source familiar with the deliberations said Jeffries is “leaning towards Mamdani” — but discussions are ongoing.
Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Schumer has yet to endorse in the mayor’s race, a contest that also includes incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats now running as independents.
Democratic socialist Mamdani’s ascendance has caused a major rift among progressives and moderates in the party, which exploded into a full blown war last week after state Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs, also the Nassau County Democratic leader, bucked ally Hochul by issuing a statement refusing to endorse the Democratic nominee.
“Mr. Mamdani and I are in agreement that America’s greatest problem is the continued growth in income disparity in our nation. On how to address it – we fundamentally disagree,” Jacobs said.
“I strongly disagree with his views on the State of Israel, along with certain key policy positions.”
Jacobs continued, “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. For those reasons I will not be endorsing Mr. Mamdani for Mayor of the City of New York.”
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