The 8 Kinds of Democratic Reactions to Mamdani's Victory

[Celerity]

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/zohran-mamdani-victory-democrat-reaction-guide.html

https://archive.ph/yqqmU



Zohran Mamdani’s demonstrative victory in the first round of the mayoral primary against Andrew Cuomo has continued to rock the political world, as the 33-year-old state legislator appears poised to defeat the long-favored former governor. But Mamdani’s success is prompting strong reactions within the Democratic Party as politicians weigh embracing him or trying to put distance between them as Republicans move to tie the party as a whole to the democratic socialist. Here are eight ways Democrats are reacting to the upset and Mamdani’s widening path to City Hall.



Prior to his stunning Election Night victory, Mamdani received two key endorsements from the state’s congressional delegation: representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez. Ocasio-Cortez, who held a highly attended joint rally with Mamdani in Manhattan on the first day of early voting, congratulated the assemblymember Tuesday after Cuomo appeared to concede the race to Mamdani. “Your dedication to an affordable, welcoming, and safe New York City where working families can have a shot has inspired people across the city. Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,” she wrote on social media. The next day, she said that Mamdani proved that voters want “generational change” from Democrats:



Velázquez also stumped for Mamdani on the trail, joining him and Ocasio-Cortez at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and speaking at his Election Night party. The veteran politician congratulated Mamdani for his defeat of Cuomo and urged Democrats to coalesce around him. “NYers voted for [Zohran Mamdani] because working people are under attack from not only the Trump Admin, but the disastrous affordability crisis — and he is the fighter to take these problems on. It’s time for the Democrats to get behind Zohran,” she posted on X. Mamdani also had the backing of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, the longtime progressive who, in an interview with Politico, touted his victory as proof of the strength of a grassroots movement:

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