Jay Jacobs Overwhelmingly Re-Elected New York State Democratic Party Chair Despite Challenge

The New York State Democratic Party has given Jay Jacobs another term as chairman, re-electing him Thursday despite his decision not to endorse Zohran Mamdani in last year’s mayoral race.

Jacobs won 82% of the vote from party committee members. Caitlin Ogden, chair of the Otsego County Democratic Party, received 14%, while 4% of members abstained.

Gov. Kathy Hochul supported Jacobs’ bid to remain in the post, even as some party figures sought to remove him over his refusal to back Mamdani.

Jacobs is a strong supporter of Israel, while Mamdani has sharply criticized the country and called for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During the mayoral campaign, Jacobs said he and Mamdani agreed that widening income inequality was among America’s most serious challenges. Their agreement ended there, he said, because they had fundamentally different ideas about how to address the problem.

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Jacobs also said he had personally told Mamdani that he disagreed with the candidate’s views on Israel as well as several other major policy positions.

Jacobs, who also leads the Nassau County Democratic Party, is viewed as a moderate as New York Democrats have moved further left. That shift has been reflected in the victories of democratic socialists such as Mamdani, along with congressional candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez.

He has held the state chairmanship during two separate periods spanning a decade, serving under former Gov. David Paterson, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Hochul. Thursday’s vote gives him another two-year term.

After the party committee meeting in Tarrytown, Jacobs said he was honored to be re-elected and ready to build on the party’s progress by helping Democrats win races at every level across New York.

Jacobs described the party as diverse and united, saying Democratic candidates statewide are confronting Donald Trump’s attacks on New York and advocating for families. He added that he looked forward to working with party leaders ahead of the November elections.