{"id":42186,"date":"2025-06-26T12:17:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T19:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=42186"},"modified":"2025-06-26T12:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T19:17:10","slug":"after-mamdani-victory-progressives-call-for-primary-challenges-to-democratic-establishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/06\/26\/after-mamdani-victory-progressives-call-for-primary-challenges-to-democratic-establishment\/","title":{"rendered":"After Mamdani Victory, Progressives Call for Primary Challenges to Democratic Establishment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"After<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

New York mayoral candidate, state Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-N.Y.) (L), is joined by fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander during an election night gathering on June 24, 2025 in New York City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo: Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The establishment has never been more weak than they are now,” one advocate told potential progressive candidates. “You need to run.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JULIA CONLEY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jun 25, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani’s victory over disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary was quickly dismissed<\/a> by some commentators<\/a> as one that likely wouldn’t<\/a> be replicated in federal elections and that said little<\/a> about the views of Democratic voters at large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the news that Cuomo had conceded<\/a> on Tuesday night left many progressives eager to continue the momentum started by Mamdani’s (D-36) campaign\u2014one characterized by a laser-sharp focus on making life more affordable for working people, a rejection of the outsized influence of billionaires and corporations on elections, and a demand for the Democratic Party to end its insistence that popular economic justice proposals are impossible to achieve in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WITHOUT YOU, COMMON DREAMS SIMPLY WOULDN\u2019T EXIST.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Instead of viewing Mamdani’s victory as an aberration, said<\/a> journalist and organizer Daniel Denvir, the left should treat it as “an earthquake” that threatens the entire Democratic establishment\u2014and its prioritizing of wealthy donors over the needs of ordinary voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The left everywhere must dedicate itself to an insurgency against Democratic incumbents,” said Denvir. “The Democratic establishment has lost credibility with its base in the face of a fascist threat. The base is looking leftward for new leadership. We are the opposition party.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several progressive observers urged potential primary challengers to look to other upcoming races in New York, with several expressing hope that New York City Comptroller Brad Lander\u2014another mayoral candidate who was widely praised<\/a> for boosting Mamdani’s campaign by cross-endorsing with him\u2014will continue his political career by fighting for a U.S. Senate or House seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Democratic centrists including U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman<\/a> and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/a> were named as lawmakers Lander could challenge in a primary. Goldman is up for reelection in 2026, and Schumer could face a primary in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> (D-N.Y.), who has angered progressive advocates during President Donald Trump’s second term by complaining about their demands for the Democrats to act as an opposition party, and Rep. Ritchie Torres<\/a> (D-N.Y.), a vehement supporter of Israel<\/a> who attacked Mamdani and accused him of antisemitism when he spoke out in support of Palestinian rights, were also mentioned as incumbents who should be challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mamdani won<\/a> both Jeffries’ and Goldman’s House district, according to political analyst Armin Thomas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizer Aaron Regunberg pointed to an article<\/a> published by Politico<\/em> last week detailing how 40% of Cuomo’s endorsements came from lawmakers who had previously called for his resignation when he was accused of sexually harassing more than a dozen women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Politico<\/em> ran this very convenient piece listing out every New York Democrat who needs to get primaried!” said Regunberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the centrists named would likely have vast financial resources at their fingertips should a progressive vie for their seats, with powerful groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)<\/a> liable to spend heavily on their campaigns\u2014but so did Cuomo, who benefited from a super political action committee that raised $25 million, including from right-wing billionaires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But if all of Cuomo’s advantages led to a thorough election thrashing, perhaps they weren’t advantages,” wrote<\/a> Jeet Heer at The Nation<\/em> on Wednesday. “Mamdani proved to be a superb campaigner with a message about affordability that resonated with voters… Mamdani’s victory is a sign that the Democratic Party establishment is in trouble, and the party is ready for a wider revolt. The next move of progressive Democrats is to start running insurgent candidates in primaries to harness the anger of the moment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/em>\u00a0political analyst Harry Enten also acknowledged that “the Democratic establishment” will likely feel threatened by Mamdani’s victory, which follows “poll after poll showing Democratic voters fed up with their leaders in Washington.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/kenklippenstein\/status\/1937723707679494369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1937723707679494369%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fmayor-race-nyc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his victory speech, Mamdani himself suggested broader lessons should be taken from his campaign, during which he walked<\/a> the length of Manhattan to talk directly to New Yorkers, spoke<\/a> to Trump voters in the outer boroughs about their concerns over the cost of living, and advocated for fare-free buses and no-cost universal childcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is a victory for every New Yorker who has been told they don’t have a voice,” Mamdani said in his victory speech. “It’s proof that organized people can beat organized money.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a column<\/a> at Common Dreams <\/em>Wednesday, writer David Andersson wrote that “Mamdani’s win signals a seismic shift in the balance of power between entrenched political institutions and a new generation demanding change. The sheer scale of resources the establishment mobilized\u2014and still fell short\u2014reveals the depth of their fear of losing control over the city’s financial and political machinery.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“New York City, and perhaps the nation, is at a turning point,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Hogg, the anti-gun violence activist who was recently pushed out of his position as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee after he\u00a0advocated<\/a>\u00a0for primary challenges to “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats in blue districts, urged young progressives to consider launching their own campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/x.com\/davidhogg111\/status\/1937710668389490745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1937710668389490745%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fmayor-race-nyc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It has never been more clear\u2014the establishment has never been more weak than they are now,” he said. “You need to run.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JULIA CONLEY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York mayoral candidate, state Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-N.Y.) (L), is joined by fellow mayoral candidate Brad Lander during an election night gathering on June 24, 2025 in New York City.  (Photo: Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images) “The establishment has never been more weak than they are now,” one advocate told… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42186"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42187,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42186\/revisions\/42187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}