WASHINGTON (TNND) — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) hosted a breakfast Wednesday morning for New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in an effort to bolster support among Democratic lawmakers.
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents constituents in the Bronx and Queens, campaigned for Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist who aligns with Ocasio-Cortez on policies pushing for greater affordability for working class citizens.
“Zohran Mamdani is the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, and as a Democrat, I am rallying behind our nominee,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Mamdani has yet to receive the endorsement of top Democrat leadership such as House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) or Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), but Ocasio-Cortez said she is excited for Democrats to meet with Mamdani “face to face.”
“I think a lot of people just need to get to know folks before they issue an endorsement. I hope that this conversation can be constructive to bring the party together and rally behind our nominee,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Mamdani also shared on Tuesday that he is looking forward to meeting with top Democratic leadership.
“I’m excited to go to Washington, D.C., to speak with Congressman Jeffries, to speak with Senator Schumer, to speak with leaders of our party across the country,” Mamdani said.
However both Jeffries and Schumer shared with reporters that they will be meeting with Mamdani at a later time.
“I spoke with him last night and will be meeting in New York City,” Schumer said on Wednesday.
Jeffries also told reporters that he’d be meeting with Mamdani at the “end of the week back home in Brooklyn.”
Meanwhile, rising Democratic star Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has been floated as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, attended Wednesday’s breakfast. Mamdani shared with reporters that Mamdani was “very impressive.”
Democrats such as Debbie Dingel (D-MI) and Rep. Moskowitz (D-FL), who admits to having “vast disagreements” with Mamdani, had praised the mayoral candidates great success with running social media on his campaign trail.
Political pundits such as Chris Cuomo, the brother of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who lost the Democratic primary, have likened Mamdani’s victory to mean a dramatic shift in the Democratic party.
“The winner is an open socialist, and the Democratic Party is now just that socialistic, but to be clear, this is a fictional fix for very real frustrations, an extreme suggestion of free everything that sounds great to those who feel cheated by the system because they are cheated by the system, but this is never going to happen,” Cuomo said in June.