Mamdani makes a big bet on Democratic socialism

The “establishment” label Mamdani is attaching to some of his opponents this year doesn’t fit comfortably. Just six months into a four-year term, the new mayor has infuriated some allies who endorsed him over Andrew Cuomo last year as divisions among progressive candidates define the primary season.

That group of spurned allies includes Rep. Adriano Espaillat, whom Avila Chevalier is challenging in Manhattan and the Bronx. It also includes retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who endorsed Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso to replace her while Mamdani is backing his opponent, Valdez.

“This is a district that loves the mayor, that respects and trusts him,” Reynoso told Semafor during a Friday stop at a World Cup watch party. “So it’s made it more difficult for a candidate like me — who’s done the work, who’s been in progressive politics, who the people of this district trust as well — to contest against his endorsement.”

Reynoso is one of several candidates trying to counter Mamdani by reintroducing themselves as experienced, community-rooted brawlers. (The left-wing Working Families Party continues to support Reynoso over Valdez.)

Of the targeted incumbents, that redefinition has been hardest for Rep. Dan Goldman, who won just 26% of the vote in his 2022 primary as left-wing candidates split the progressive vote. Lander, who became beloved by DSA members after helping Mamdani beat Cuomo, worked with the mayor’s ad team for a campaign that effectively turned them into a comedy duo — a dorky Jewish dad and a swaggering Muslim mayor, both critical of the Israeli government.

“Brad’s campaign has been entirely based on his endorsements,” Goldman told reporters after voting in Manhattan on Friday. “If Bernie Sanders or Zohran Mamdani were running for this seat in Congress, then it might be a question. But Brad Lander’s on the ballot and has no experience in Congress. We just do not have the luxury right now.”

Lander’s ability to draw sharper contrasts with Goldman — who never endorsed Mamdani — have made his primary challenge a smoother ride than the mayor’s other two chosen battles.

The races against Reynoso and Espaillat have gotten more heated, more expensive, and more personalized. With a handful of real policy differences to fight over, identity and the perceived failures of the Democratic “establishment” have played larger roles.

Valdez has emphasized her union organizing work at Columbia University — that “Claire was there,” as Mamdani puts it.

“Too many of us can’t think about our future,” Valdez said on Thursday. “We can only think about the next shift, the next bill, whether the next check appears before the rent hits.”

The race between Espaillat and Avila Chevalier has been nastier, exposing the risks of the mayor’s strategy.

The incumbent has no problem calling his opponent an outsider; he’s received help from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and pro-Israel groups, which are ready to declare defeat for Mamdani.

Both candidates got a chance to address Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network on Saturday, with the mayor introducing Avila Chevalier. He asked the crowd of activists to give her the same chance it had given him, while she accused Espaillat’s allies of attacking her for trying to oust a first-generation Dominican immigrant.

“They have told us that we have to choose, that dignity for one community must come at the expense of another,” said Avila Chevalier. “I am both Black and Dominican, and I will not apologize for it.”

Espaillat spoke to the crowd more directly, invoking decades of civil rights battles where he’d walked with Sharpton — and his challenger, less than half his age, had not.

“We need to be careful of fair-weather friends that come around and say that the rent is too high — but they’re the ones that are driving up the rent!” he said. “They are the gentrifiers!”

It’s helpful to see a politician call his shot in public. Mamdani says that he knows where to take the Democratic Party and that he’s identified the candidates who’ll do it.

Republicans will seize on any DSA wins this week to cast swing-seat Democrats as allies of the left wing. If Espaillat loses, they will call Hakeem Jeffries a weak leader who can’t protect his own incumbents. But that’s not the mayor’s problem!

Democrats in many places are discovering that the party infrastructure is weak, and that without reinforcement from super PACs, well-organized activists with a popular leader can win.

“It’s done wonders for the movement that one of the most popular politicians in the world is a democratic socialist,” state Sen. Jabari Brisport told me. “He’s not just popular, he’s also effective. The massive gains on child care, sewer socialism with the potholes, and the snow. Also, seeing the Knicks get the championship for the first time in 53 years.”

Mamdani obviously had nothing to do with that last event, but he’s trying to infuse its good feelings into his political project. And he’s been open about his goals.

He told me last year that he wanted to follow what worked with Sanders in Burlington, before he was born: Prove that life gets better, and services get more efficient, with a socialist in charge.