The Victory Of Candidates Backed By Mamdani Reopens The Battle Among Democrats Ahead Of Midterms

With less than five months until midterm elections that will shape the second half of Donald Trump’s term, the old dilemma tearing the Democratic Party apart has resurfaced. The victory on Tuesday of the three candidates backed by New York’s left-wing mayor Zohran Mamdani has raised alarm in the party’s centrist wing, which fears heading into November 3 with candidates seen as too radical and therefore easy targets for Republican attacks.

Mamdani took a considerable risk by explicitly backing Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier—through television ads and joint appearances—against the party’s wishes. All three surprisingly defeated establishment heavyweights on Tuesday. The success of his gamble gives the mayor a substantial injection of political capital he intends to exploit.

“The old politics that got us to this crisis is not the politics that is going to get us out of this crisis,” Mamdani declared on Tuesday to an enthusiastic base. “New Yorkers are hungry for a new kind of politics,” he repeated on Wednesday. The message is clear: old dogmas—whether on the U.S. relationship with Israel or on fighting inequality—are no longer valid.

“Rather than reopening the battle among Democrats, I think Mamdani’s victory, in a way, closes it. Progressives have won. The party is now theirs. It’s clear which way the wind is blowing,” says Lincoln Mitchell, a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. The political scientist argues the takeaway is that Democrats must change their mindset and stop fielding mediocre candidates just because they have held office for a long time. He insists voters will no longer accept candidates who, for example, hesitate to raise taxes on billionaires.

After these primaries, it is almost a certainty that Lander, Valdez and Avila Chevalier will get seats in the House. Although the midterms are on November 3, all three ran in New York districts with strong Democratic majorities, so that winning the primary effectively amounts to winning the seat.

The significance goes beyond New York. The three politicians share much in common: they belong to the party’s furthest-left wing and hold very critical views of Israel and of unconditional U.S. support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

The steady shift of Democratic sympathizers toward pro-Palestinian positions foreshadows a seismic movement in a party long assumed to be allied with Israel. “The party’s centrist wing has adopted a stance on Israel that, frankly, is disconnected from reality. If you are [California governor] Gavin Newsom, you should be mindful that your position on Israel could cost you the election,” Professor Mitchell adds.

Another sign from these primaries is the growing importance of the socialist movement—a word that was until recently taboo in the United States. Valdez and Avila Chevalier, like Mamdani himself, are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Lander, who is Jewish, was a member of that organization until he left it in 2023 after Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7 of that year. The House that emerges from the midterm elections will have twice as many socialist members, rising from two to four. It is another indicator of the new times in Washington.

Republicans’ response

Meanwhile, Republican rivals are already taking note. Donald Trump was the first. The U.S. president spent Wednesday morning posting on his social network Truth, warning of the alleged danger posed by those he calls communists. For example: “America The Beautiful will NEVER be a communist country!!!”

He also reacted, with a hint of envy, to press coverage of Mamdani’s clear success: “Mayor Mamdani pulled through 3 solid Communists, and has received loud and universal applause from the Fake News Media. I went 16-0 last night, helping to elect wonderful American Patriots, and the Media doesn’t say a word.”

In the coming campaign, in addition to stoking many Americans’ fear of socialist policies, Republicans will be able to use past remarks by the Democrats. For example, Avila Chevalier recently deleted tweets in which she criticized then-Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris. “Fuck Kamala Harris,” she wrote.

She also deleted messages in which she spoke of abolishing the police, prisons and borders, of nationalizing major industries, and in which she questioned Israel’s right to exist. Avila Chevalier has apologized for these comments, saying they do not reflect her current views. But that will not prevent Republicans from using them not only in her New York district but across the United States.

The arrival of these candidates in the Capitol could also spell trouble for current House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who hopes to become speaker if his party regains the majority in November. The party’s left wing has been highly critical of Jeffries’ opposition to the Trump administration, which could complicate his bid.

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