Kamala Harris tepidly endorses Mamdani: 'He’s the Democratic nominee, and he should be supported'

Former Vice President Kamala Harris gave a rather restrained endorsement to socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, saying that, in her view, the New York state lawmaker deserves the endorsement as a Democratic candidate.

Harris, who sat down with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow for an interview in which they discussed her new book "107 Days," didn't show much enthusiasm in backing Mamdani, who has yet to receive endorsements from the Democratic Party's most prominent figures.

"Look, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the Democratic nominee, and he should be supported," Harris said in response to Maddow's first question.

"Do you endorse his candidacy?" the host insisted.

"I support the Democrat in the race, sure," the vice president replied, without praising the candidate.

Quickly, Harris then qualified that Mamdani is not the only promising figure in the Democratic Party and asked the audience not to focus all the attention on New York.

"But I mean, there are people like Barbara Drummond in Mobile, Ala., Helena Moreno in New Orleans. They’re all running for mayor, too, and they are stars. So, I hope that we don’t so over index on New York City that we lose sight of the stars throughout our country who are right now running for mayor and many other offices, governor and so on. So that’s where I am. We got a big tent, and we got a lot of stars," Harris said in the interview.

Despite Harris' lukewarm public endorsement, Mamdani continues to see his candidacy move forward without receiving formal endorsements from some of New York's leading Democratic figures. Neither House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries nor Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have announced endorsements of the candidate.

The figure with the most clout backing Mamdani is state Governor Kathy Hochul, who made her endorsement official on Sept. 14 after a three-month wait.

Mamdani's far-left campaign has generated internal friction. Moderate sectors of the Democratic Party have questioned him on proposals considered very progressive such as the creation of publicly owned supermarkets and his refusal to condemn the anti-Israeli slogan "globalize the intifada."

Harris' pronouncement, by its tone and timing, shows how the tension in the Democratic Party over Mamdani remains latent, with Democrats moving between the need to present unity in the face of Republicans and caution before electoral choices that could polarize moderate voters in other states who look askance at the direction the party is headed.

Meanwhile, the New York mayoral race continues smoothly, with Mamdani comfortably leading in the polls after winning the Democratic primary with authority.