What happened: Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, endorsed Mamdani for mayor on Friday, a day before early voting was set to begin.
Why it matters: Even as Mamdani has pulled in endorsements from previously skeptical party leaders, there have been notable holdouts, Jeffries among them. A sharp critic of the Democratic Socialists of America, Jeffries has had his differences with Mamdani, a democratic socialist. The endorsement is the latest sign that many mainstream Democrats are going to support their party’s nominee, despite some reservations. But don’t expect them to embrace all of Mamdani’s left-wing message.