Former vice president Kamala Harris officially endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in an interview on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Monday.
During Harris’ visit to Maddow’s show, to promote her candid book “107 Days”, she offered a tepid endorsement of the candidate before turning to other up-and-coming names in the democratic party.
“Look, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the Democratic nominee and he should be supported,” Harris said when asked about her thoughts on Mamdani and why some in the party have been slow to back him. “I support the Democrat in this race, absolutely.”
“So I hope that we don’t so over-index on New York City that we lose sight of the stars throughout our country who are right now running for mayor and many other offices, governor and so on,” Harris said. “So that’s where I am. We got a big tent and we got a lot of stars.”
Mamdani has also won strong backing from progressive leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont.
Several top Democrats have held off on endorsing Mamdani. Last week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie endorsed Mamdani. But, notably, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers, have not yet given him their backing. Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic Party chair in New York, said last week that he wouldn’t endorse the Democratic mayoral nominee.