Zohran Mamdani: America’s Most Powerful Democrat

The primary election results give the Democratic Socialist of America and Mayor Zohran Mamdani yet more momentum. That is the takeaway from the Democratic contests of Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, all of whom enjoyed the backing of the mayor, who now sets the Democrats’ agenda. Hizzoner’s candidates went three for three, which is excellent for a major league hitter as well as a political endorser. Mr. Mamdani’s brew of socialism and anti-Israel politics increasingly looks like not only the future of the Democratic Party, but also its present. Just days after the mayor referred to supporters of the Jewish state as “monsters” who “move millions in dark money,” these three candidates all accuse Israel of genocide. Their campaigns were turbocharged by that animus above any other issue. At one victory party the chant was “Free Palestine.”Take New York 13, where Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, Congressman Adriano Espaillat. Ms. Chevalier, a graduate student at Columbia who led the encampments there, will likely now represent the university in Congress. She has called American veterans “war criminals,” slandered President Biden as a “rapist,” attended a pro-Hamas rally on October 8, 2023, and denounced interracial relationships.Ms. Chevalier also wrote in 2019 “I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me 🙂.” She has opined that “Israel doesn’t exist” and is in favor of abolishing police, borders, and prisons. One liberal group, Broadway Democrats, reports that during a meeting with Ms. Chevalier she “point-blank refused” to condemn Hamas. During a parley with the New York Editorial Board she would not commit to incarcerating murderers. A similar tale of hard left defeating merely very left unfolded at New York 7, where the president of Brooklyn, Antonio Reynoso, was bested by Claire Valdez. She decried him on — surprise — not hating Israel with sufficient verve. At her victory party she vowed to “stand up to the genocide” and “continue to call for Palestinian liberation.” What any of this has to do with, say, potholes at Greenpoint or Long Island City is anyone’s guess.At New York 10, another ally of Mr. Mamdani, Brad Lander, defeated Congressman Dan Goldman. The race appeared to turn entirely on Israel, with Mr. Lander slandering America as “complicit in genocide.” Mr. Goldman, a foe of President Trump and down the line liberal, didn’t stand a chance. When footage of his concession speech was screened at Ms. Valdez’s victory party, the crowd erupted in a coarse jibe at AIPAC. We grasp that in all three districts where Mr. Mamdani intervened, voters will likely merely swap one Democrat for another. The mayor, though, asserts that his own victory was “not the end. It was the beginning.” The Senate candidacies of, say, Graham Platner and Abdul El-Sayed could vindicate that confidence. Senator Schumer and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries are on notice. The Times reckons that the “Mamdani name was magic across the city.”Mr. Mamdani is steering Democrats into ever more radical waters, but polling suggests that he will find ever-smoother sailing. Gallup reports that 65 percent of Democrats sympathize more with the Palestinian Arabs than the Israelis. Only 17 percent back the Jewish state. In 2012 the DSA counted 6,500 members. In February, that number was north of 100,000. In the wake of Tuesday’s successes, how high might it climb?

Zohran Mamdani: America’s Most Powerful Democrat

Zohran Mamdani: America’s Most Powerful Democrat

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