New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, wrote in The New York Times on Sunday that she is endorsing Zohran Mamdani, a state representative with a long history of denouncing Israel, for New York City mayor, giving the Democratic socialist his most high-profile backing to date.

“I didn’t leave my conversations with Mr. Mamdani aligned with him on every issue,” she wrote . “But I am confident that he has the courage, urgency and optimism New York City needs to lead it through the challenges of this moment.”

Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo, a former New York governor, by more than a dozen points in the Democratic primary and leads a field of three general election opponents.

The Democratic establishment had distanced itself somewhat from Mamdani, who has a history of ties to Jew-hatred and

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