Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a swing-district Democrat representing parts of the Hudson Valley, announced his endorsement on Wednesday of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. 

With the endorsement, Ryan becomes the first New York Democratic lawmaker outside of New York City to support the 33-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman.

“Public service is all about one thing: who do you fight for?” Ryan said in a social media post. “Zohran Mamdani fights for the PEOPLE.”

He also took a swipe at former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was soundly defeated by Mamdani in the June Democratic primary and is now running as an independent, calling him “a selfish POS who only fights for himself and other corrupt elites.”

“I know whose side I’m on,” Ryan added. “I’m with the people. I’m with Zohran.”

Mamdani, who is leading all polls in the divided race, returned the compliment in a social media post, saying Ryan “fights for the people, too: he’s stood up to the utilities ripping off his constituents and taken on monopoly power in Congress.”

He called it “a true honor to earn” Ryan’s support.

The two-term congressman, who had initially been reluctant to comment publicly on Mamdani’s candidacy, joins a handful of Democratic House colleagues in New York who have endorsed the nominee since the primary, including Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), whom Ryan has also praised, had endorsed Mamdani before the primary.

Even as pressure has recently been mounting for Democrats to get behind Mamdani as the November election nears, the party’s leaders — including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) —  have all so far withheld endorsements.

Other holdouts include Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who have raised concerns about Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric. 

Shortly after Ryan publicized his endorsement Wednesday, the House Republican campaign arm, which is targeting the congressman in the election next year, quickly pounced on the news, providing an early glimpse of how the GOP is seeking to link Mamdani’s far-left views to the broader Democratic brand.

“Pat Ryan made it official: His agenda and Zohran Mamdani’s are one and the same,” Maureen O’Toole, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. “Together, they want to destroy New York City, making it unsafe and unaffordable for anyone to live, work or travel there. Let that sink in.”

A spokesperson for Ryan did not immediately return a request for comment.