Adrienne Adams will back Mamdani for mayor
'We'll see if he's elected,' Adams said Monday when asked in an interview with POLITICO whether she's endorsing Mamdani. 'But you know, I am a lifelong Democrat, and I will be supporting the Democratic nominee.'
The speaker said she had 'no plans' to campaign for Mamdani but kept the door open to doing so.
'Tomorrow will be a week since the primaries and I'm still recovering from all of that wonderful work that I've done over the past few months,' she said at a separate, unrelated press conference Monday. 'So we'll look further down the road as time goes on.'
Adams had a complicated relationship with Mamdani during the mayoral primary. Both harshly criticized Cuomo, who was considered the frontrunner, and both joined the Working Families Party's endorsed slate of four candidates in an effort to defeat the former governor. But she never formally cross-endorsed Mamdani and released a statement saying she didn't want Black voters to be taken for granted.
Adams is Black, and Mamdani was eager to build support among Black voters, which polling and election results show was his weakest demographic.
'I stood up for what I believed in,' Adams said Monday, when asked if she had second thoughts, after seeing fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander hailed for cross-endorsing Mamdani and campaigning alongside him. 'I was true to who I am, true to my community.'
Mamdani is all but guaranteed to be the Democratic nominee after the ranked-choice votes are tabulated and released Tuesday, and the primary result is expected to be certified in mid-July. Cuomo already conceded to Mamdani on election night after preliminary results showed Mamdani with a 45.3 to 36.4 percent lead in voters' top picks.
Adams was a distant fourth, winning about 4 percent of votes.
Adams was recruited to run for mayor just weeks before the filing deadline by state Attorney General Letitia James and other leaders to be a bulwark against Cuomo with Black voters. But even with the disappointing result, she said she was glad to have run.
'This has been the most meaningful experience of a lifetime, and I have no regrets at all. I am so grateful for my journey,' she said.
Mamdani could face a competitive general election. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams opted out of the primary and is seeking reelection on an independent line. Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden are also running. And Cuomo's name is expected to be on the ballot after he secured an independent line of his own, though he hasn't announced whether he'll mount a campaign.
Mamdani garnered the endorsement Monday of the New York City Central Labor Council, an umbrella group for unions. That's the latest success in his effort to expand his coalition for the general election, following key endorsements from labor unions such as the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council and elected officials such as Rep. Jerry Nadler.
The democratic socialist assemblymember still faces some hesitation from key members of the Democratic establishment, such as Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said last week that there were 'areas of difference in our positions.'
Adrienne Adams endorsed Eric Adams in the 2021 mayoral primary, but their relationship soured. The City Council has consistently battled with the mayor to restore budget cuts, enact police accountability legislation and limit cooperation with ICE under President Donald Trump's administration. On Friday, however, the Council reached a deal with the mayoral administration to boost legal defense funding for immigrants in the city budget.
'There has been resistance, particularly with immigration issues, when it comes to the mayor because of his relationship with the Trump administration,' Adrienne Adams said Monday. 'However, he still has to be the mayor for all people in the city, and realizing that he is also a mayor for our immigrant New Yorkers, I believe that he thought he had to come around. And I'm really, really glad that he did.'
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Los Angeles Times
14 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Orange County congresswoman targeted by protests over Trump megabill, cuts to healthcare
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We need our Medicaid. We cannot afford this type of reckless cuts and behavior.' A security guard blocked the parking lot to Kim's office and at least a half-dozen Anaheim police officers watched the protest unfold. Several people who appeared to be Kim staffers watched the demonstration from outside the building before they dashed inside when protestors marched to the building, unsuccessfully sought to enter it and then began chanting 'Shame! Shame!' In a statement, Kim said that her door was always open to Californians in her district. 'I understand some of my constituents are concerned and know how important Medicaid services are for many in my community, which is why I voted to protect and strengthen Medicaid services for our most vulnerable citizens who truly need it,' Kim said. 'I have met with many of these local healthcare advocates in recent months.' Trump's proposal would dramatically overhaul the nation's tax code by making cuts approved during the president's first term permanent, a major benefit the the corporations and the nation's wealthy, while slashing funding for historic federal safety-net programs including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps provide food to low-income Americans. Roughly 15 million Californians, more than a third of the state, are on Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid, with some of the highest percentages in rural counties that supported Trump in the November election. More than half of California children receive healthcare coverage through Medi-Cal. A version of the Republican bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with Kim's support. The U.S. Senate narrowly approved an amended version of the bill on Tuesday. The defection of three GOP senators meant Vice President J.D. Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote for it to pass in that chamber. The House and Senate will now work to reconcile their two different versions of the bill. This week was a district work week for members of Congress, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) ordered members back to Washington, D.C., for votes on the bill that could occur Wednesday or Thursday. Republicans hope to get the legislation to President Trump's desk for his signature by Friday, Independence Day, though there is some concern among its members about whether they will have enough votes to pass the bill because of potential defections and the united Democratic opposition. An analysis released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Sunday estimated that the Senate version of the proposal would increase the national deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034 and would result in 11.8 million Americans losing healthcare insurance in less than a decade. Trump praised the passage of the bill on social media and urged House Republicans to support the Senate plan. The proposal has caused a rift within the GOP, with and some House members have expressed reservations about the measure because of the amount it would add to the nation's deficit and its impact on their constituents. 'I've been clear from the start that I will not support a final reconciliation bill that makes harmful cuts to Medicaid, puts critical funding at risk, or threatens the stability of healthcare providers' in his congressional district, Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) wrote on the social media site X on Sunday. He represents more than a half million Central Valley residents who rely on Medicaid – the most of any congressional district in California, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center. A spokesperson for Valadao on Tuesday didn't respond to a question about how the congressman planned to vote. Kim's Orange County district is more affluent than Valadao's, but roughly one in five of her constituents rely on Medicaid. 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New York Post
31 minutes ago
- New York Post
Michael Goodwin: Cuomo remains NYC's best shot to keep socialist Mamdani from being mayor – or the city will never be the same
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What private developer is going to build apartments if it means losing money on the whims of a nepo-baby mayor who never held a job in the private sector? And if government becomes the major builder, look to the perpetually troubled Housing Authority projects for a vision of the hellscape future. Follow The Post's coverage of the NYC mayoral race Mamdani's racist plan to tax white-owned property higher than others and his support for antisemitic policies are beyond the pale. On top of his backing for the BDS movement, his refusal to condemn the odious phrase 'globalize the intifada' offers tacit support for violence against Jews in Israel and around the world. He's also a 33-year-old elitist who joined the 'defund the police' mob and has talked about dismantling the jail system. Next to him, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a throw-away-the-key champion of law and order. New York has never had a mayor so far out of the mainstream. The closest was Bill de Blasio, and Mayor Putz was the worst leader the city had in 50 years. Which brings us back to Cuomo. The November ballot essentially comes down to a four-person race. In addition to Mamdani on the Dem line, Cuomo and Eric Adams hold independent lines, and Curtis Sliwa is the GOP nominee. Cuomo I believe, is the only one with a realistic chance of defeating Mamdani. Yes, yes, I know that's a hard sell in the immediate aftermath of the thumping the former governor suffered last week. Mamdani beat him by 7 points on the straight vote counting, and the final margin grew to 12 points when the ranked-choice votes were tabulated. Full of regrets The difference reflected the cross-endorsement arrangements Mamdani made with like-minded lefties that enabled him to pick up much of their support when they were eliminated. But the key was the record turnout of 100,000 new voters from ages 18 to 30, who went overwhelmingly for the Queens lawmaker. 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My prediction is that Cuomo, after licking his wounds and sounding out key donors and supporters, will throw himself into the November race. At this point, foolish pride is the only thing he has left to lose.
The Hill
38 minutes ago
- The Hill
House Democrat slams Fetterman for ‘beach' remark
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) took a swing at fellow Pennsylvanian Sen. John Fetterman (D) over comments he made as the Senate was on its way to passing President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' in which he said he had 'missed' a beach trip. 'I will do whatever it takes, stay up for 48 straight hours, 72 straight hours, do whatever it takes to block this bill from becoming law,' Boyle told The Bulwark's Sam Stein in an interview that came out Tuesday. 'And that should be the attitude, frankly, of every Democratic member of the House and Senate. If you are here, you're damn lucky, and you're privileged to be here. You should want to be here. If you don't want to be here, leave,' he added. Fetterman made it quite clear Monday morning that he was not feeling excited about going through a marathon series of votes on the 'big, beautiful bill,' saying that it was costing him beach time, as the bill was likely to pass anyway. 'Oh my God, I just want to go home. I've already … I've missed our entire trip to the beach,' Fetterman said to reporters. Senate Republicans passed Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' early Tuesday afternoon, making it a step closer to crossing the president's desk. The bill now makes its way to the House, where questions arise about whether the lower chamber can meet a self-imposed Republican July 4 deadline for passing it. 'Almost all of our Great Republicans in the United States Senate have passed our 'ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.' It is no longer a 'House Bill' or a 'Senate Bill'. It is everyone's Bill,' Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday. The Hill has reached out to Fetterman's office for comment.
