Mamdani's political earthquake rocks Democrats, dividing party on path forward

For Republicans, the reaction to democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's stunning victory this week in New York City's Democratic Party primary for mayor was simple.

They attacked the Ugandan-born 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens, who took a major step toward becoming the first Muslim mayor of the nation's most populous city, as an extremist and anchored him to Democrats across the country ahead of next year's midterm elections.

The attacks stretched from down ballot on the campaign trail all the way up to the White House, with President Donald Trump claiming that Mamdani was "a 100% Communist Lunatic."

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For Democrats, it's more complicated.

Mamdani shocked the political world, topping former three-term Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the rest of the 11-candidate field in the Democratic mayoral primary. Cuomo, who resigned from office in 2021 amid multiple scandals, was aiming for a political comeback.

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Once a longshot, Mamdani closed the gap with frontrunner Cuomo during the final stretch of the primary race thanks to an energetic campaign that focused in great part on New York City's high cost of living.

Endorsements from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star and New York City's most prominent leader on the left, and by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential runner-up nominee, helped Mamdani consolidate support on the left.

And Mamdani, thanks in part to the efforts of a massive grassroots army of volunteers and his campaign's creative use of social media, rode a wave of support from younger and progressive voters to catapult himself into first place.

New York City’s mayoral primary campaign played out as the Democratic Party works to escape from the political wilderness after last year's elections, when the party lost control of the White House and the Senate majority and failed to win back control of the House from the GOP. It also came as the party works to resist Trump's sweeping and controversial second-term agenda.

And Mamdani's victory adds more fuel to the longstanding showdowns in the Democratic Party, between the progressive left and the more moderate establishment and centrists, and, to a degree – between young versus old.

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Veteran Democratic strategist Lauren Hitt, who in the mayoral race advised a super PAC opposing Cuomo, told Fox News that Mamdani's victory was a "clear rejection of the old guard." 

And Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Stephanie Taylor told Fox News that Mamdani's "victory shows that a new direction for the Democratic Party is possible — a future of dynamic candidates who appeal to young and working-class voters with a platform that fights for people, not corporations," Taylor said.

Pointing to endorsements of Cuomo earlier this month by former President Bill Clinton and former three-term New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, she charged that "the old guard establishment of the Democratic Party, fueled by billionaires, did everything they could to defeat Mamdani – and they failed. They continue being wrong about everything, and they need to get out of the way and let a new generation lead."

Matt Bennett, executive vice president for the moderate Democrat-aligned group the Third Way, acknowledged that Mamdani "focused on affordability," which he said is "great."

Bennett added Mamdani is "young, charismatic, a great communicator. All that is great. We want to see that."

But Bennett told Fox News "the problem is he has the wrong prescription."

On the primary campaign trail, Mamdani proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City's vast bus system, making City University of New York "tuition-free," freezing rents on municipal housing, offering "free childcare" for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores.

And in a CNN interview Thursday night, he said, "I have many critiques of capitalism. … There must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country."

Bennett noted that "Republicans are already weaponizing" Mamdani's primary victory to take aim "against other Democrats."

Veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News Mamdani's win is "a messaging nightmare that's going to unfold in real time from now until the midterms."

But Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida doesn't think what happened in heavily blue New York City will resonate in crucial swing districts, like his seat.

"I think the idea that you can extrapolate what happened there and roll that out to 49 other states, to the suburbs, the politics are very different," Moskowitz told reporters on Capitol Hill this week.

And Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, who represents a suburban swing district that also includes a sliver of New York City, took to social media to say he "had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani" before the primary.

"Those concerns remain," Suozzi said.

Fox News' Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.