From Newsgroup: nyc.politics

Top Democrats insist that theyrCOre unfazed by the partyrCOs forming a rCLZohran Mamdani wing,rCY after the New York City mayorrCOs stunningly successful primary night.

But there is growing angst among many sitting congressional Democrats
after Mamdani allies won three primaries, including defeats of incumbent
Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman. And, most immediately, they
worry it will make it tougher to flip the House this year, with
Republicans eager to tee up the Mamdani slaterCOs most controversial
positions for attack ads in battlegrounds across the country.

rCLObviously, the socialists had a big win last night. The question is,
are we going to let them take over the party? Or are we going to stand
up and fight back?rCY said Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, a moderate Democrat who has criticized MamdanirCOs politics and how herCOs addressed allies of Israel. rCLMany of us believe, as I do, that if yourCOre a
socialist, yourCOre not a Democrat.rCY

Gottheimer and others worry that Republicans will try to yoke their most vulnerable members to what they see as far-left ultra-progressives rCo and
they worry that it will only highlight Democratic divisions in a
must-win election year.

rCLIf you ask me, it was not a good night for New York,rCY Rep. Greg Meeks,
a powerful New York Democrat who is close with House Minority Leader
Hakeem Jeffries, told CNN when asked about deleted posts from Darializa
Avila Chevalier, who defeated Espaillat, expressing support for
abolishing police, prisons and borders.

Asked about the fraught relationship between the Democratic Socialists
sure we put all of our resources to fight Republicans and to fight
Donald Trump, werCOre using it to fight each other. It just doesnrCOt make common sense to me.rCY

One Democratic lawmaker sitting in a battleground district told CNN that
they are so concerned about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of
America that they have recently begun having serious conversations with
donors about leaving the party altogether.

If Democrats do flip the House, the number of democratic socialists in
their ranks is still likely to be a small minority of the caucus. And
Democrats remain confident they can still win the House in November.

The House Democratic caucus gathered for a private briefing by their
party arm on Wednesday morning, where party leaders presented internal
polling showing Trump underwater in key battlegrounds, according to two
people familiar with the briefing. No one brought up the Mamdani-backed candidate wins.

The Mamdani-backed candidates who won on Tuesday ran on the same
affordability message that the party has embraced nationally, but their victories highlight broader friction over DemocratsrCO status-quo tactics
in Washington rCo as well as deep divides on Israel.

rCLOur party nationally will need to reckon with this fact given that what
you witnessed yesterday was not an anti-affordability or anti-economic
policy strategy that won; it was an anti-establishment strategy beyond messaging that trumped,rCY a senior House Democratic aide told CNN.

Speaking Wednesday morning in New York City, Mamdani made the opposite argument, though he also connected cost-of-living issues to his
longstanding critiques of US military support for Israel, a key issue in
all three primaries.

rCLWhat we saw last night was a hunger for leaders who will be there on
the front lines looking to make it easier for working people to afford
life in the greatest city in the world,rCY he said.

Jeffries on Wednesday downplayed fears within his party that the wins
could reverberate in battleground districts this November.

rCLNo, Donald Trump has a working relationship with the mayor of the city
of New York, and herCOs made that publicly and explicitly clear to
America, not once but twice in the Oval Office,rCY Jeffries said.

Jeffries was asked by reporters if Mamdani had made enemies on Capitol
Hill.

rCLListen, the mayor and I agreed to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements, and herCOs got work to do in terms of the conversations that herCOs going to have with members of Congress moving forward,rCY Jeffries,
who backed Espaillat and Goldman, told reporters.

Asked if Democratic voters want their members in Congress to be more
totality of all 215 members of the House Democratic caucus, and that
answer speaks for itself.rCY

The Brooklyn representative told reporters his relationship with Madmani
is rCLa very good onerCY and that the pair speak regularly.

Jeffries, who famously took months to decide whether to endorse Mamdani
in the mayoral primary in his home city, eventually did back the mayor.
But not all of his Democratic members from New York did.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, a centrist from Long Island, has been vocal in his
critiques of democratic socialists, including Mamdani.

After Tuesday nightrCOs primaries, Suozzi said the victories by the far
left have sent a message to mainstream Democrats that they need to do
better. But he doesnrCOt think it calls for a push toward far-left
policies.

rCLItrCOs a warning that people have got to do a better job. TheyrCOve got to work harderrCY to prove to voters they have solutions to make life more affordable, Suozzi said. He compared the rise of democratic socialists
to the MAGA surge in the GOP.

rCLI think the bottom line is that the DSA and the far left rCo as well as
the MAGA movement and the far right rCo are organized, and theyrCOre doing a good job organizing, and theyrCOre tapping into peoplerCOs concerns about
their economic insecurity. I think Trump did that in his campaigns. I
think Mamdani did that in his campaign for mayor. They tapped into
peoplerCOs real concerns about economic insecurity. I just happen to
disagree with their solutions,rCY he said.

But Morris Katz, a campaign strategist who is a key Mamdani ally, argued
that Democrats can have a rCLbig-tent populist partyrCY that focuses on affordability and rCLinvests in domestic priorities, in schools and in hospitals rather than in wars abroad.rCY

rCLI think that we spend a lot more time talking about labels than the
average swing voter thinks about that,rCY Katz told CNNrCOs Dana Bash. rCLYou see people interact with policies, campaigns, and ideas not predicated
on the label theyrCOre applying to themselves, but how are they going to
make their lives better?rCY

And on Capitol Hill, progressives like Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna
celebrated Tuesday nightrCOs results.

rCLItrCOs a big win for the progressive wing of the party. We are a new
party that will call out the genocide, tax the billionaires, and stand
up for single payer healthcarerCY Khanna told CNN. rCLOur party wants a new generation leaders willing to challenge the status quo and call out the establishment.rCY

But one longtime Democrat, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, firmly
disagrees that the results reflect the mood of the country.

Instead, he said itrCOs a small minority of Democrats who have run
extremely effective campaigns.

rCLI think we have a lot of more organizing to do on the ground,
especially in places like New York and California, places where DSA is
is is being more influential, and we need to educate young people, we
need to get more people, young people, involved on more moderate
policies, just the way the other side has, and run strong campaigns,rCY Gonzalez said.

rCLI donrCOt think it should be a concern for people in South Texas, but I think nationally itrCOs a huge concern, and how they push the policies
within the Democratic caucus that werCOre going to have to defend,rCY
Gonzalez added. rCLA lot of these policies that obviously I donrCOt agree
with and would be very difficult for me to sell to people in South
Texas, and I donrCOt intend to sell them, because I donrCOt believe in most
of them myself.rCY

As for his own reelection, Gonzalez was confident he could still win
enough that people donrCOt see me as a socialist. In fact, I get beat up
by socialists.rCY

This story has been updated with additional details.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/24/politics/mamdani-house-democrats-primary-e lections
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