Mayor Mamdani's New York sweep tests Democratic Party's willingness to change

NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stepped into the national spotlight this week as an ascendant political force within the Democratic Party. Democratic leaders aren't so sure that's a good thing. As progressives cheered across the nation, some of the most powerful Democrats in the country, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, downplayed the impact of Mamdani's victories on Tuesday, when the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor's slate of congressional candidates defeated three establishment favorites - including two incumbents - in primary contests. He had even more victories in state legislative races, where he successfully backed five other candidates. It was a stunning sweep for Mamdani, just six months into his first term, that will expand his influence in Washington and Albany. The mayor said Wednesday that he hopes to export his policies and politics to other states, while demanding major changes across the Democratic Party. "Working people are struggling across the country," Mamdani said. He added that he hopes to help "write a new chapter in our party’s history, where working people are back at the heart of that struggle. And I I believe that will be key in not just the midterms coming up in November, but also in the years to come." The mixed reaction from Democratic leaders as they grappled with the fallout from Mamdani's success exposed the depth of the divide between the party’s progressive and establishment wings, who are at odds over how Democrats should govern - and how to win elections - over the final two years of the Donald Trump presidency. Hoping to avoid civil war within party Indeed, Democrats hope to avoid an all-out intraparty civil war ahead of the November midterms, especially with Republicans fighting amongst themselves over Trump's war in Iran, how to address the affordability crunch and the president's costly efforts to build a massive White House ballroom. The Mamdani resistance from senior Democrats was not subtle. "The effort to nationalize New York is going to fail,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. "What’s happening in New York will be really irrelevant by the time of the elections in November.” Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas, a vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition, was similarly dismissive, saying progressives were playing checkers while moderates were playing chess. "No one in DSA is trying to win in a red-to-blue seat, or in a tough general election matchup,” Veasey said, referring to democratic socialist candidates. Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander, center, arrives to greet supporters with his wife Meg Barnette, second from left, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, second from right, for an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) Left flank jubilant Democrats' left flank said the party's latest nominees should be welcomed with open arms. "What I would like to see, and what I think would be actually productive and beneficial, is a congratulations to these people, a commitment to welcome them in, to understanding the perspectives that they bring,” said Rep. Summer Lee, a 38-year-old progressive from Pennsylvania. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who campaigned alongside Mamdani and his allies last week, said New York's results sent a clear message. "The American people, in New York and increasingly all over the country, are sick and tired of status quo establishment politics,” he said. "I think you’re gonna continue to see it.” Trump saw an opportunity to stir the pot from the Oval Office, telling reporters that the Democrats were "going radical left” and Mamdani's choices are "really communist.” He marveled at the defeat of Rep. Dan Goldman, a former top lawyer during Democrats' first impeachment of Trump. Goldman was defeated by Brad Lander, an ally of Mamdani. "When they go more liberal than Dan Goldman, they’re really into Never Neverland,” he said. Political gamble that paid off Mamdani backed three anti-establishment congressional challengers in a political gamble that his own team acknowledged was risky. He won them all. Goldman, a two-term incumbent, was swiftly defeated by Lander, a former city comptroller. U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was toppled by Mamdani’s most polarizing pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander arrives with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for an election night watch party Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy) Antonio Reynoso, the handpicked successor of U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, lost to another democratic socialist, Assembly Member Claire Valdez. The entire Mamdani slate promised to "abolish ICE,” condemned Israel's "genocide” in Gaza and vowed to "tax the rich." "Voters are just pissed off," Lander said in an interview. "T