Clinton campaign alum urges Jeffries, Schumer not to ‘take the bait,’ get ‘bullied’ into Mamdani endorsement

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer choosing to endorse New York City Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani at this stage in the race would demonstrate “weakness,” Democratic commentator Kavian Shroff told Fox News Digital. 

With less than two weeks until Election Day, the New York Democrats have yet to endorse Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, despite the self-identified democratic socialist securing the party’s nomination over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June. 

“It would show a level of weakness that they were bullied into this endorsement,” Shroff said in an exclusive interview, arguing that Jeffries and Schumer endorsing now would no longer move the needle and backfire on more moderate candidates next year. 

The latest Fox News survey conducted Oct. 10–14 revealed that Mamdani maintains a substantial lead, at 21 points. The results found that 49% back Mamdani, while 28% go for Independent candidate Cuomo and 13% favor the Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

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“Mamdani is certainly on track to win this election without the endorsement,” Shroff said. “It sort of gives a weapon to Republicans across the country as we head into the 2026 midterms to label Democrats that are much more moderate, which most are, as democratic socialists or communists, as Trump mislabels Mamdani.”

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Since Mamdani secured the Democratic nomination, President Donald Trump has labeled him a “100% Communist Lunatic” and “My little Communist.” Mamdani has rejected that moniker, affirming that he is a Democratic socialist. 

Shroff, who worked on former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, said there is more risk for Jeffries and Schumer to endorse Mamdani “with pretty much zero upside.”

“I think that would actually be an interesting headline and a good narrative story for Democrats to have across the country that they didn’t get behind a Democratic socialist,” Shroff said. 

After months of dodging reporters’ questions about when to expect an endorsement, Jeffries confirmed this week that he would finally weigh in on the New York City mayoral race before the first day of early voting, which begins this Saturday, Oct. 25. 

Meanwhile, Schumer told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that they are “continuing to have conversations.”

Both Jeffries and Schumer have met with Mamdani since he secured the Democratic nomination, but the New York Democrats have yet to endorse him. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., was also among those withholding an endorsement, until last month when she finally endorsed Mamdani in an opinion piece for The New York Times. She has since joined Mamdani on the campaign trail, but Mamdani has stopped short of endorsing her gubernatorial re-election bid. 

Ahead of competitive midterm elections expected next year, Republicans have already seized on Mamdani’s progressive politics, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who is considering a run for governor. Her campaign said in a recent statement, “Kathy Hochul literally has endorsed a full blown jihadist pro-terrorism Mayor of New York City.”

“I do think she also probably realized that Mamdani is inevitable, and that he is going to be her partner in the city,” Shroff said of Hochul. “Still, she clearly says she’s not going to support his tax raises and some of those things that are essential to getting his policies through.”

Mamdani plans to pay for his ambitious campaign agenda, which includes fast and free buses, free childcare and city-run grocery stores, by raising taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers. 

Any tax hike would require state approval, and Hochul has made it clear she won’t raise taxes, igniting questions about the feasibility of Mamdani’s campaign promises. 

Shroff recently said in a Real Clear Politics commentary that Schumer and Jeffries shouldn’t “take the bait” on endorsing Mamdani. 

“You’re going to have Republicans labeling everyone far-left because of Mamdani,” Shroff said. “The whole country is going to be watching New York City because this has been a hotly contested, very interesting race, and he’s going to be failing, frankly, the minute he takes office because a lot of the funding to do what he says won’t be possible.”

Shroff, who was also a 2024 DNC delegate, said endorsing Mamdani now would only push the party to the left and if Mamdani cannot deliver on his campaign promises, “the moderates are going to be the ones that lose.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani, Jeffries and Schumer but did not immediately receive a response.