Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, a veteran lawmaker who was once the highest-ranking Black member of Congress, will endorse former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday.
Mr. Clyburn will make the case that Mr. Cuomo is the right candidate to help Democrats fend off the ill effects of the second Trump term, when the president is “challenging the pillars of our democracy.”
“The mayor of New York is uniquely positioned to play an important role in the future of the national Democratic Party,” Mr. Clyburn said in a statement, adding that Mr. Cuomo had the “experiences, credentials and character to not just serve New York, but also help save the nation.”
The endorsement comes three days after Mr. Cuomo’s main rival, Zohran Mamdani, was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive wing’s longtime standard-bearer. Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Mamdani have led in the polls, and the tenor of the race has become increasingly nasty ahead of the Democratic primary on Tuesday.
Mr. Sanders has also placed the race in a national context, arguing that Mr. Mamdani represents a break from ”corporate-dominated politics driven by billionaires.”
Mr. Clyburn does not often take sides in Democratic primaries, but he did so in a 2021 congressional race in Ohio to help defeat an acolyte of Mr. Sanders. Mr. Clyburn also provided crucial support to Joseph R. Biden Jr. in his defeat of Mr. Sanders during the 2020 presidential primary.
The congressman’s endorsement could help Mr. Cuomo with turnout among Black voters who are a key part of his coalition. It also signals that Mr. Cuomo is aligned with Mr. Clyburn’s moderate vision for the party — instead of Mr. Sanders’s — and that institutional Democrats like Mr. Clyburn have moved on from the sexual harassment scandal that led to Mr. Cuomo’s resignation as governor in 2021.
Mr. Clyburn said that Mr. Cuomo had fought for communities of color as housing secretary and had “demonstrated an uncanny ability to make real progress” as governor. Mr. Cuomo said in a statement that Mr. Clyburn had “always been on the right side of history” and prioritized “results over performative politics.”
Mr. Clyburn, who recently hosted his annual fish fry in South Carolina, which some have viewed as the unofficial start of the 2028 presidential campaign, said that he had known Mr. Cuomo since he served as the housing secretary in the Clinton administration from 1997 to 2001.
Mr. Clyburn will be featured in robocalls to voters, according to a person familiar with the Cuomo campaign’s plans. In one message, he says that Mr. Cuomo will stand up to Mr. Trump while urging New Yorkers to vote early this weekend, since it could be 100 degrees on Primary Day.
Both campaigns are focused on turning out voters. Early voting numbers have been higher than in the 2021 primary, possibly reflecting enthusiasm for Mr. Mamdani, who has run on a message of making the city more affordable.
Mr. Cuomo, who is more popular with older voters, sent an email to supporters on Thursday urging them to vote early because of the expected heat wave.
“Please vote today and encourage everyone you know to vote now to avoid next week’s extreme heat,” he said.
Mr. Mamdani voted early with his wife in his neighborhood of Astoria, Queens, on Thursday and encouraged his supporters to turn out early as well.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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