Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., refused to endorse New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Sunday when pressed by CNN host Manu Raju."Im wondering if part of the issue with your party, do you think, is not embracing enough of the energy on the left flank of your party?" Raju said, pointing to Mamdani. "Hes the Democratic candidate, democratic socialist candidate there. Democratic leaders are not supporting him. Is that a problem? Do you support him?"Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary."So you and I are going to have this conversation, and I'm going to say to you one day, I told you so," Booker responded. "This is not a left-right issue. It really isnt. It is an authoritarian, versus people who want pragmatic government that makes a difference in the lives of the American people. Im one of these people that says the lines that divide us in America are not nearly as strong as the ties that bind us."AOC-BACKED SOCIALIST MAYORAL CANDIDATE BACKTRACKS AFTER CALLING TO 'DISMANTLE' POLICE IN 2020"Big corporations, people want to keep our eyes on the screen, want to pit us against each other and tell us how much we should hate each other," he continued. "Im sorry, the left-right lens is not the right lens to look at this right now. Right now it is, can we get back to the pragmatic work of governing?"Raju asked the liberal senator again if he supported Mamdani."I have learned a long time ago, let New York politics be New York politics. We got enough challenges in Jersey. I got a governors race, I'm supporting Mikie Sherrill. I got legislative races. Thats where my energy is going to go, going into November. New York City, I love you. You're my neighbor. You're about 10 miles from where I live. You guys figure out your elections. I'm going to focus on mine," Booker said.Other prominent Democrats have also side-stepped or dodged questions about endorsing Mamdani, including Gov. Kathy Hochul.'EXISTENTIAL THREAT': JEWISH LEADERS WARN OF NYC 'MASS EXODUS' IF ZOHRAN MAMDANI WINS IN NOVEMBERRep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., has criticized the progressive mayoral candidate as a "job-killing socialist.""You will hear no ambiguity out of my mouth," Gottheimer said. "We do not need a job-killing socialist who wants to raise taxes and supports antisemitic rhetoric. Right? In a city with the highest taxes in the country and the largest Jewish population."Mamdani faced backlash over his refusal to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada."CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE