Van Hollen Criticizes Democratic Leaders for Delay in Endorsing Mamdani

Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City on Saturday and called on his party’s leadership to do the same, criticizing them for a delay that he said allowed President Trump to exploit Democratic divisions.

Mr. Van Hollen said Mr. Mamdani, the party’s nominee, is focused on “ensuring that people can afford to live in the place where they work,” a goal that “Donald Trump and the city’s financial elites see that as a threat,” according to prepared remarks.

“Yet, many Democratic members of the Senate and the House delegations representing New York have stayed on the sidelines,” Mr. Van Hollen told a group of Democratic activists and officials gathered in Des Moines on Saturday afternoon. “That kind of spineless politics is what people are sick of.”

Mr. Van Hollen isn’t alone in suggesting that it is time for the national party to get behind Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist.

In recent days, a series of Democrats across the ideological spectrum have argued that it is important for their leaders to forcefully reject Mr. Trump’s apparent interest in tipping the race toward former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a lifelong Democrat who is running in the mayoral race as an independent after losing the primary to Mr. Mamdani.

Mr. Trump and his aides, allies and donors have gone to extraordinary efforts to meddle in the race and improve the chances of Mr. Cuomo — though Mr. Trump now appears increasingly resigned to a potential victory by Mr. Mamdani.

Mr. Van Hollen’s remarks, delivered at the Polk County Steak Fry, an annual party fund-raiser that frequently draws top Democrats, underscores how Mr. Mamdani’s rise has captured the imagination of both national parties. Republicans have attempted to use his primary victory to paint a broad swath of Democratic candidates as aligned with socialism and the far-left wing of their party.

Democrats have praised his focus on affordability and savvy use of social media as a model for their candidates nationwide, though many have been wary of fully embracing him.

Democratic leaders — including Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader; Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader; and Gov. Kathy Hochul — have so far declined to endorse his bid despite his resounding primary victory in June. Their reticence has frustrated the left wing of their party, who have typically rallied behind more moderate picks such as former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

In his remarks, Mr. Van Hollen cast the reticence of Democratic officials and strategists as a political mistake, particularly at a time when surveys show voters hold very unfavorable perceptions of the Democratic brand.

“We have become a party that too often trims its sails. Too cautious, too rudderless. Too attached to poll-washed, pundit-rinsed, and donor-dried messages,” he said. “What comes out of the wash is all bleached and blow dried.”

Mr. Schumer met with Mr. Mamdani earlier this week and said they would “keep talking.” Mr. Jeffries has hinted that he was moving toward a decision, but said Wednesday, “I choose to make endorsements when I choose to make endorsements.” Ms. Hochul also said she and Mr. Mamdani had been having conversations.

Some Democratic leaders have urged their party to focus intensively on kitchen table economic issues, like high prices. Mr. Van Hollen argued that those economic arguments should not come at the expense of his party challenging the administration on issues like deportations, redistricting and political violence.

In his remarks, Mr. Van Hollen cited his involvement in fighting for the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in the spring. Some in his party, he said, argued that getting embroiled in a fight over a deportation was a “distraction” and potentially politically unpopular, because Mr. Trump’s hard line on immigration had resonated with voters.

Mr. Van Hollen saw a different lesson.

“This finger in the wind stuff has got to stop. We also need to stop deluding ourselves that the problem is all about messaging, or about volume, or style,” he said. “We don’t just need to fight. We need to fight for something.”