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The election of three Democratic socialist candidates earlier this week in congressional races within New York City has many establishment Democrats worried — including, it appears, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
On Tuesday, Democratic Socialist of America (DSA)-aligned candidates Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Claire Valdez all won their primary races in districts within the city. Both Lander and Avila Chevalier ousted Democratic Party incumbents in their contests.
Reacting to those three candidates’ wins, Jeffries — who recognized the victories came after the endorsement of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is also a Democratic socialist — said it would be important for the two to bridge the gaps between their ideological stances.
“The mayor and I agree to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements,” Jeffries said after the election took place.
Jeffries seemed to imply that Mamdani’s endorsements could be detrimental to the Democratic Party overall. He also said it would be Mamdani’s responsibility, not the candidates themselves, to make him and other party members feel at ease.
“He’s got work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward,” Jeffries said of Mamdani.
Other party leaders have expressed similar concerns, rejecting the fact that, on many issues, a majority of Americans have expressed support for Mamdani’s and other Democratic socialists’ ideals.
“What we have to do is sit down and work with the left-leaning part of the party and see if we can come to some sort of understanding going forward,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said after Tuesday’s elections, using language that is similar to how politicians might react to opponents on the opposite side of the partisan divide winning power.
Moderate Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) went even further.
“The socialists had a big win,” Gottheimer said. “The question is, are we going to let them take over the party? Or are we going to stand up and fight back?”
Gottheimer added, “If you’re a socialist, you’re not a Democrat.”
Other Democrats opposed such talk.
“Instead of us making sure we put all of our resources to fight Republicans and to fight Donald Trump, we’re using it to fight each other. It just doesn’t make common sense to me,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-New York), an ally of Jeffries’s.
On Wednesday morning, Mamdani expressed optimism in upcoming discussions with Democratic leaders, including Jeffries. He also indicated that his endorsements’ wins indicated the public’s desire for change within the party.
“What we saw [Tuesday] 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,” Mamdani said.
Centrist Democrats have expressed dubious concerns that progressive candidates could hurt Democrats’ chances elsewhere.
“These races might have some impact on 2026 if Republicans weaponize the craziest ideas of these candidates against mainstream Democrats running in blue districts,” complained Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett.
But polling consistently shows support for progressive causes, including those championed by Mamdani and his allies.
A YouGov poll last fall centering on Mamdani’s positions found that 69 percent of U.S. voters backed raising taxes on corporations and millionaires. The poll also found that 66 percent backed free child care for children up to age 5, and that 56 percent backed raising the minimum wage to $30 an hour within the next few years.
A DSA Fund/Jacobin/Data for Progress poll last year found that 58 percent of Democrats polled preferred a democratic socialist form of society over capitalism. Progressive political figures — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), and Mamdani — were favored over establishment figures like Jeffries, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) by a 20-point margin.
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