Fresh off of his mayoral election victory, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is already weighing in on local legislative races, throwing his weight behind a left-wing Queens Assembly candidate whose political adviser said it’s time “to draw the fire of the Israeli lobby,” the Daily News has learned.
Mamdani’s support for Palestinian American activist Aber Kawas — conveyed during a closed-door Democratic Socialists of America meeting last Wednesday — marks the first time the incoming mayor has put his thumb on the scale in a local race since his own Nov. 4 election win.
In backing Kawas, Mamdani, an Assemblyman representing Astoria, puts himself on a collision course with the incumbent in the Assembly district in question, Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who is vacating her seat to run for a state Senate spot in next summer’s primary elections.
Gonzalez-Rojas, a DSA member whose district spans Jackson Heights, has endorsed her chief of staff, Brian Romero, to succeed her.
Barry Williams/ New York Daily News
New York State Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
At last Wednesday’s DSA Electoral Working Group meeting, supporters of Romero made the case that he’s well suited to replace Gonzalez-Rojas because of his deep ties to the district, including his fluency in Spanish in a predominantly Hispanic district and years of work on local issues, according to multiple sources in the room who spoke with The News on condition of anonymity.
Some Romero supporters also raised concern about the record of Kawas, an activist on Palestinian issues who only moved to the district within the past year. Kawas recently returned to New York after earning a master’s degree in Islamic Liberation Theology from a university in South Africa.
But supporters of Kawas countered that she is a better candidate to run because of her family background amid Israel’s controversial war in Gaza, which became a flashpoint during this year’s mayoral election.
“We have to actually run a Palestinian Arab in this race because we need to draw the fire of the Israeli lobby, and we have to beat them,” Joe Stanton, a political adviser to Kawas, said to applause during the meeting held at Manhattan’s Church of the Village, according to the sources.
“We did it with Zohran, and people have started realizing that they don’t run things.”
Earlier in the meeting, Sam McCann, who serves as a top political adviser on Mamdani’s transition team, told the gathered DSA members that the mayor-elect also backs Kawas.
“[Mamdani] told me that while he has tremendous respect for everyone in this race, he has said that he will support Aber in whatever she pursues,” McCann said, according to sources.
Ultimately, after Mamdani chimed in, the DSA’s Electoral Working Group endorsed Kawas, voting for her over Romero by a 69%-18% margin, with the remaining 9% arguing the DSA should back no candidate in the race.
The vote marks the first step in the DSA’s endorsement process as the left-wing group’s Queens chapter and main leadership committee still need to green-light the move for it to become official. But the electoral group’s influence is significant and with Mamdani’s support, Kawas is in a strong position to get the official nod.
Romero is running no matter what, though, he told The News on Sunday.
“While I am a DSA member and support the platform of the organization, I am accountable to many community partners and stakeholders in this district, including Latino, immigrants rights, progressive, and community leaders,” he said. “I grew up in this community and proudly served it for almost five years.
“Zohran is a friend and it was a privilege to work together in the Assembly since we started together in 2021…As a queer Latino and Democratic socialist I believe that at this time when Trump and ICE are attacking our Latino, immigrant, and queer and trans communities I can best represent my neighbors.”
A spokeswoman for Mamdani, who is set to be sworn in Jan. 1, did not provide additional comment Sunday on the mayor-elect’s decision to back Kawas over Romero.
A source close to Romero said he feels slighted by the fact that Mamdani did not inform him of his endorsement plans.
As mayor, Mamdani will be the DSA’s most high-profile elected official in New York, if not the country. As such, he can exert significant influence over local races in New York and his endorsement is expected to be highly coveted in any state-level elections next year.
Mamdani’s decision to get involved in the Queens Assembly race stands in contrast to a reported effort by him to urge left-wing Brooklyn Councilman Chi Osse to not launch a 2026 primary challenge against Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, New York’s No. 1 Democrat in Congress.
As part of that effort, Mamdani has argued Osse might harm cohesion building between the progressive and moderate parts of the Democratic Party as he prepares tot take office in less than seven weeks. according to the New York Times.
