'Your move': Top Dem leaders chided as governor bucks party with key endorsement

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, officially endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race on Sunday night — a move that generated significant criticism of other Democratic Party leaders.

"New York needs leaders who will put aside differences, stand up and fight back against Mr. Trump," Hochul wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times explaining her endorsement.

"Zohran Mamdani and I will both be fearless in confronting the president’s extreme agenda — with urgency, conviction, and the defiance that defines New York," it continued. "And we must never allow Mr. Trump to control our city like the king he wants to be. Anyone who accepts his tainted influence, or benefits from it, is compromised from the start."

Hochul is one of the highest-profile left-wing elected officials to endorse Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, to date. Left-wing political commentators and analysts slammed Democratic leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), both of whom have not endorsed Mamdani, on social media.

"Hochul showing more political savvy than Jeffries or Schumer," podcaster Doug Gordon posted on Bluesky.

"Hochul just endorsed Mamdani," political consultant Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin posted on Bluesky. "Your move, Jeffries and Schumer."

"Hochul, belatedly, does the right thing and endorses Mamdani. Makes Schumer and Jeffries look even more ‘spineless’, to quote Sen. Van Hollen," journalist Medhi Hasan posted on Bluesky.

"OK, Kathy Hochul has more courage than Schumer or Jeffries or Gillibrand," journalist Joan Walsh posted on Bluesky.