Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is endorsing Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race, giving the Democratic nominee the backing of another high-profile progressive as the left-wing candidate seeks to coalesce an uneasy Democratic base behind him.
Khanna said during an interview on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends” on Thursday that he would back Mamdani, calling him a “very charismatic, relatable person.”
“He spent a lot of time talking about the cost of living in New York, in this country, and how we address it,” said Khanna, who a day earlier at the Hill Nation Summit said he hadn’t decided on whether he would be a presidential candidate in 2028.
The California congressman received some pushback from the host on whether he supports Mamdani’s criticism of Israel and calls for arresting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to visit New York City.
Khanna said he doesn’t agree with Mamdani on every issue, but the Democratic Party needs to “center” more on working class Americans, raise wages and have a more economically populist agenda. He said he doesn’t agree with every position of those he endorses, and he and Mamdani “obviously” have differences.
The endorsement came after Mamdani met with a range of House Democrats for a breakfast meeting hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday. Mamdani has been seeking to gain more backing among Democratic leaders following his upset victory in the Democratic primary for mayor last month.
The reception to the meeting from those in attendance was mostly positive among those who shared their thoughts on the event. A few praised Mamdani, while some said the meeting was more about learning Mamdani’s communications methods that benefited him in the race than whether they support him.
Mamdani is expected to meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Mamdani’s picked up a few notable endorsements since his primary win, including from Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the latter of whom initially endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.
Cuomo announced on Monday that he would go forward with his independent run in the general election and is calling on the other candidates in the race to get behind whichever of them has the best chance of defeating Mamdani, to be determined in September. Mayor Eric Adams, also running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, have refused calls for them to step aside to increase the chances of beating Mamdani.
