Inside The Mamdani-aoc Endorsement Compact

NEW YORK — When Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier for Congress in late May, her opponent, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, was blindsided.

Espaillat, a five-term incumbent and the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, had banked on Mamdani supporting him for reelection, since the mayor had privately told him months earlier he would do just that. The two men even shook hands on it.

One of Espaillat’s colleagues in New York’s congressional delegation, however, was not caught off guard: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Before endorsing Avila Chevalier — who ultimately defeated Espaillat in a stunning upset — Mamdani informed Ocasio-Cortez of his plans, two people with knowledge of the conversation told POLITICO.

The heads-up about the Avila Chevalier endorsement was part of a wider communication stream in which Mamdani alerted Ocasio-Cortez ahead of time about endorsements he planned on making in the city’s June 23 congressional primaries, according to the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations. Mamdani also briefed Ocasio-Cortez before endorsing progressive Brad Lander’s successful campaign against Rep. Dan Goldman and democratic socialist Claire Valdez’s victorious bid for retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat.

The information sharing went in the other direction, too.

Ocasio-Cortez — who opted against endorsing in New York City congressional primaries this cycle — gave Mamdani advance notice before backing three democratic socialist candidates running against state Assembly incumbents last month, said the people with knowledge of the communications. All of her endorsed candidates won their races too.

One of the people who spoke with POLITICO described Mamdani’s close loop with Ocasio-Cortez in the lead-up to the primaries as a “coordinated” strategy that sought to maximize their collective influence without either of them running afoul of legislative leadership in Albany and Washington.

“They supplemented each other where they could,” the person said.

Mamdani — who didn’t endorse against any state-level incumbents this cycle — needs the support of leaders in Albany, such as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, to make progress on his agenda next year, like more childcare funding and tax increases on millionaires and corporations. Mamdani’s legislative goodwill in the state Capitol would likely have been thrown into jeopardy had he backed candidates running against members of Heastie’s Democratic supermajority in the Assembly.

For her part, Ocasio-Cortez would have risked inflaming relationships with colleagues in the New York congressional delegation, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, if she had endorsed against incumbents like Espaillat and Goldman.

Spokespeople for Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez didn't return multiple requests for comment.

The pre-endorsement communications between Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani, which have not been previously reported, speak to the close political bond the two progressives have forged since his successful 2025 mayoral campaign.

Thanks to their endorsement strategy, another two members of the Democratic Socialists of America are on track to join Congress — at least doubling the hard-left group’s presence on Capitol Hill. And at least another 15 DSA members are set to join the state Senate and Assembly in the next legislative session (nine of them are incumbents).

The bond with Mamdani could become especially important for Ocasio-Cortez as she has her sights set on higher office — with calls mounting for her to launch a 2028 run for Senate or even president.

Ranking as one of the country’s most popular Democrats in a recent poll, Mamdani could prove a key surrogate for Ocasio-Cortez no matter what her next career move is. Ocasio-Cortez gave Mamdani a significant boost when she endorsed him less than three weeks before the June 2025 Democratic mayoral primary that he won.

But while their coordinated endorsement strategy panned out in New York last month, it doesn't come without risk.

Powerful allies of Espaillat, like New York Attorney General Letitia James, took a shot at the mayor after the primaries, saying some of his endorsed candidates “do not understand the politics of New York City, the cultural differences from district to district.” That marked an unusual rebuke from James, an early supporter of his 2025 mayoral run.

And Jeffries, who’s vying to become the next House speaker, could use his sizable sway over New York’s 2028 redistricting process to try to punish the three Mamdani-endorsed congressional candidates, as POLITICO reported.

Ocasio-Cortez, meantime, runs the risk of angering her New York colleagues by having advanced knowledge of Mamdani’s plans to help oust their fellow federal lawmakers. Having members of her own delegation see her as disloyal could be an unwanted obstacle as she weighs a run for higher office.

Yvette Buckner, a Democratic strategist in New York who counts James among her former clients, contends Ocasio-Cotez and Mamdani are displaying a certain cockiness by coordinating their endorsements.

“They’re letting other Democrats know that this is a big tent party, but they’re also letting them know that this is the train going forward and this is what voters want,” Buckner said, referring to the brand of democratic socialism embraced by most of their endorsees. “They’re putting people on notice that this is not just an idea anymore, this is a strong actual faction that’s forming.”

There was another prominent politician who played a role in the endorsement pact.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a godfather of sorts to the modern American left, solicited advice from Mamdani on this year’s crop of candidates before issuing his mid-May blast of endorsements of DSA members and other progressives running for office across the U.S.

The two people who spoke with POLITICO said Mamdani specifically encouraged Sanders to back the full DSA slate for both Congress and state legislative seats.

Sanders ended up heeding that advice with one key exception: Avila Chevalier, who was dogged during the campaign by revelations that she posted social media posts just years ago harshly assailing fellow Democrats and calling for the complete abolition of all forms of borders and policing.

One of the people with knowledge of the endorsement talks said Sanders’ lack of formal support for Avila Chevalier did not have to do with concerns about her, though. Rather, the senator didn't include Avila Chevalier on his list because Mamdani himself hadn't yet endorsed her at that point.

Ocasio-Cortez noticeably also left a candidate off her endorsement slate: Conrad Blackburn, a democratic socialist who ran unsuccessfully against Assemblymember Jordan Wright, the son of Keith Wright, an influential figure in Harlem politics and the Manhattan Democratic Party head.

The younger Wright’s district overlaps with the congressional district where Avila Chevalier defeated Espaillat. Ostensibly because of a long-running feud with Espaillat that dates back at least a decade, the elder Wright didn’t endorse Espaillat over Avila Chevalier, an omission that likely cost the incumbent coveted votes in Harlem (Jordan Wright did offer Espaillat his support in the final days of the race in an apparent effort to cool the family feud).

Blackburn ultimately lost to Wright by about 8 percentage points. He was the only democratic socialist challenging an incumbent in last month’s state legislative cycle who didn’t receive an endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez (he was endorsed by Sanders, though).

Ocasio-Cortez has never publicly explained why she didn’t back Blackburn.

Blackburn campaign adviser Kat Kerwin said Thursday that her team never got a private explanation from Ocasio-Cortez, either.

“We met with AOC’s team and provided updates throughout the race,” Kerwin said. “Ultimately, they decided not to endorse and did not provide a reason beyond wishing to stay out of the race.”