| By AP News Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons The stunning success of Zohran Mamdani in the primary race for New York City mayor has exposed anew the fiery divisions plaguing the Democratic Party as it struggles to repair its brand nearly half a year into Donald Trump’s presidency. Read more. |
| Why this matters: A fresh round of infighting erupted among Democratic officials, donors and political operatives on Wednesday. Many progressives cheered the emergence of the young and charismatic Mamdani, whose candidacy caught on with viral campaign videos and a focus on the cost of living. But the party’s more pragmatic [corporate money taking] wing cast the outcome as a serious setback in their quest to broaden Democrats’ appeal and move past the more controversial policies that alienated would-be voters in recent elections. Indeed, Wednesday’s debate was about much more than who would lead America’s largest city for the next four years. Giddy Republicans viewed Mamdani’s success as a political gift that would help shape elections across New Jersey and Virginia this fall and into next year’s midterms. Trump took aim at Mamdani on social media, calling him “a 100% Communist Lunatic.” |
