“I find it hard to understand how the major Democratic leaders of New York State are not supporting the Democratic candidate,” Sanders said. So they’re right that that is the norm,” he said, referring to those arguing that Democrats should endorse Mamdani as a matter of course. “I strongly disagree with his views on the State of Israel,” said Jacobs, who is Jewish and who reportedly pushed Hochul not to endorse Mamdani. When it comes to Ocasio-Cortez, promoting the idea that Democrats must endorse their own could have a personal payoff, too. “So politicians have to be very careful with their endorsements, even if they are for members of their own party.”