Driving the news: On Wednesday, many Democratic lawmakers and officials either denounced Mamdani or notably declined to rally around him. Republicans — including President Trump — crowed about Democrats embracing a democratic socialist who has called for reduced police funding and sided with Palestinians in the Gaza war.

  • The top two Democratic leaders in Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers, declined to endorse Mamdani even as they applauded his victory.

  • New York Rep. Laura Gillen, from Nassau County, called Mamdani the “absolute wrong choice for New York.”

  • Rep. Tom Suozzi, also from Nassau County, said he had “serious concerns.”

Major Democratic donors — who poured tens of millions into a Super PAC for Cuomo — were having private discussions Wednesday about whether to back an independent run by Cuomo in November’s general election, or rally behind unpopular incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who’s also running as an independent.

  • Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca
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    22 hours ago

    Remember when the Democrats cock blocked AOC from the oversight committee in favor of a 75 year old with esophageal cancer, that ended up dying anyway? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      Instead of thinking about that unrelated grudge you have, how about we focus on how this happened?

      Mamdani won because WE SHOWED UP and VOTED IN THE PRIMARY.

      This is how we replace the establishment centrists in the Democratic Party.

      VOTE. IN. PRIMARIES.

    • usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
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      21 hours ago

      There’s a primary for his now vacant seat this Saturday if anyone here is in that district (VA-11) and wants to avoid a repeat. Special election is in September

      There are some progressives running in that primary

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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      22 hours ago

      And then my representative got slotted in to the position, and then lost it a few days ago to a more progressive rep when they had a proper vote.

  • Devolution@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    I am tired of shitty Democrat candidates using our constitutional crisis to perpetuate the status quo that is not working. These geriatric fucks need to just die already and let the younger fighters do their jobs.

    Younger fighters are the reason MAGA worked.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      No, we just need to do exactly what NYC just did and show up to the primary and vote for the progressive. They run all the time, but mostly just retirees vote in them, then everyone complains about the two centrists on the ballot.

      It’s really that simple. Vote in primaries.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      Wait…are you calling trump young??? I was with you up until that last part. Now I’m just confused.

      • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        Exit polls shows Gen Z, males especially, leaned disproportionately to Trump, so I’m guessing the previous poster is referring to the Trump campaign’s strategy of taking advantage of impressionable boys.

        …which is another one of those ‘history rhymes’ things.

        • mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          13 hours ago

          Yeah, the “GenZ males are ultra-conservative” thing is largely caused by, I shit you not, the gooner to alt-right pipeline. This is the kind of shit you can’t make up.

        • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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          16 hours ago

          Exit polls shows Gen Z, males especially, leaned disproportionately to Trump

          And with that comes my reason to grumple at the younger generation. They got no rizz!

          THATS RIGHT! THE OLD GUY IN THE ROOM JUST LOW KEY STOLE YOUR LINGO IN A CRINGE WAY NO CAP!!! OHIO!!!

          …am I doing this right?

  • LookBehindYouNowAndThen@lemmy.world
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    23 hours ago

    Wait, what happened to “vote blue no matter who?” Does that only apply to liberal candidates? I’m shocked by this sudden, but inevitable, betrayal!

  • Archangel1313@lemmy.ca
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    19 hours ago

    Mark my words…the Democrats are going to go all-in for Eric Adams during the general election.

    • DrSoap@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      Lol, his first two years in office was just him literally sprinting from photo op to photo op. You could not turn on the TV without him giving some weird misguided speech about something he knew nothing about.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    Major Democratic donors — who poured tens of millions into a Super PAC for Cuomo — were having private discussions Wednesday about whether to back an independent run by Cuomo in November’s general election, or rally behind unpopular incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who’s also running as an independent.

    I wish there was some names or a source for that.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
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        21 hours ago

        Holy shit that is fucking bonkers.


        I awoke this morning gravely concerned about New York City. I thought “What has NYC become that an avowed socialist who has supported defunding the police, whose solution to lowering food prices is city-owned supermarkets, who doesn’t understand that freezing rents will only reduce the supply of housing, who has no experience managing an organization – let alone a city with a $100+ billion budget and a $2 trillion economy – and who believes chants for ‘Globalizing the Intifada’ are acceptable, wins the Democratic Primary.

        After speaking to those who supported @ZohranKMamdani , I believe that he won the primary largely not due to his policies, but rather because he is a superb politician who ran a remarkable and inspiring campaign. He is intelligent and articulate. He is young and charming, and he successfully played down incriminating @X posts and statements from his past, pitching a joyful campaign of unity.

        And he won because the competition was very weak. His best competitor sat back and did not run a real campaign, relying on name recognition, early favorable polling and keeping a low profile to make it through. Not a strategy that I have ever seen work, but so be it.

        The Democratic primary voter is clearly tired of the Democratic politics of the past and its aging and over-the-hill leadership – Who isn’t? [As a case in point, how embarrassing is it to watch aging Dems fall in line with their tweets of support for Mamdani, as they desperately try to defend their seats from the far left?] And therefore, without any real competition, Zohran and his attractive personal qualities and campaign skills magically make him the candidate of the future.

        The problem, however, is that his policies would be disastrous for NYC. Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country. The ability for NYC to offer services for the poor and needy, let alone the average New Yorker, is entirely dependent on NYC being a business-friendly environment and a place where wealthy residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden. Unfortunately, both have already started making arrangements for the exits.

        Mamdani is right that much about NYC is broken. The City has gotten much less safe while the cost of living here has become increasingly unattainable for many. We pay more for less. Unfortunately, his headline campaign promises of frozen rents and cheaper food from city-owned markets, among others, are certain to fail.

        A mayor who disrespects the NYPD and has called for their defunding will get less effective policing, and Bratton’s ‘broken window theory’ will operate in reverse. A mayor who condones hate speech will incentivize more hate speech and violence. Words matter, and yes, they can inspire people to kill as we have recently tragically seen in our country and around the world.

        New York City under Mamdani is about to become much more dangerous and economically unviable. Unlike our Federal government, NYC cannot print money, and this Federal Government won’t bail NYC out if things go bad. In fact, Mamdani would be a windfall for the Republican Party as NY becomes another failed major city run by Democrats alongside Seattle, Chicago, LA, and SF et al as Senator Fetterman so eloquently stated today, “I’d describe it as Christmas in July for the GOP.”

        So why did I become optimistic later this morning? The answer is that NYC has woken up in the last 24 hours. The substantial majority of NYC residents understand that socialism is a failed system, that rent freezes will destroy our housing base and shrink the affordable housing supply while killing new construction, and that an anti-capitalist Mayor will destroy jobs and cause businesses and wealthy taxpayers that have enabled NYC to balance the budget to move elsewhere. If 100 or so of the highest taxpayers in my industry chose to spend 183 days elsewhere, it could reduce NY state and city tax revenues by ~$5-10 billion or more, and that’s just my industry. Think Ken Griffin leaving Chicago for Miami on steroids.

        The good news is that there are other charismatic, intelligent, articulate, handsome, charming, young yet more experienced and, importantly, more centrist politicians who are New York residents eligible for office. There are also extremely talented members of the NY business community who could be superb mayors, Bloomberg being the reference standard from the past.

        And the setup is extremely attractive for a run for mayor. There are only 132 days until the election, which means the commitment of time to run is de minimis. This will be the most closely watched mayoral election in NYC in decades, perhaps ever, which, particularly in the social media and podcast era creates the opportunity for a new candidate to garner immediate name recognition, enormous media interest, and the visibility needed to get elected.

        Importantly, there are hundreds of million of dollars of capital available to back a competitor to Mamdani that can be put together overnight (believe me, I am in the text strings and the WhatsApp groups) so that a great alternative candidate won’t spend any time raising funds.

        So, if the right candidate would raise his or her hand tomorrow, the funds will pour in. I am sure that Mike Bloomberg will share his how-to-win-the-mayoralty IP and deliver his entire election apparatus and system to the aspiring candidate so that the candidate can focus all of his or her energy on the campaign.

        One unfortunate fact, as far as I understand, is that the candidate will have to be a write-in as I believe that none of the current candidates established a nominating committee if they were to withdraw, which means that no one can take their spot on the ballot. This is such an important election, however, that I believe the write-in requirement could actually turn into an important call to action that brings people in throngs to the polls. It therefore won’t be the game stopper it would normally be in a typical election.

        As a result, the risk/reward of running for mayor over the next 132 days is extremely compelling as the cost in time and energy is small, and the upside is enormous. If the candidate does not win, there is no harm, no foul, because the perceived probability of beating the Democratic nominee in a NYC mayoral election is extremely small. Therefore, there is no reputational risk to losing this election, and the corresponding reputational benefits are extraordinary whether one wins or loses.

        If the candidate wins, this is obviously a huge home run for the City and the candidate, but it is also an opportunity to save the Democratic Party from itself, grabbing the wheel just before the party goes even further off the cliff. The new mayor would be a national superhero for the City, for the Party, and for the country.

        For the aspiring politician, there is no better way to get name recognition, build relationships with long-term donors, and to showcase oneself than to run for mayor over the next 132 days. This election is already global front page news. For the aspiring young candidate, the amount of publicity and the massive followers to be gained are of incalculable long-term value whether they win or lose, and whatever they choose to do in the future, business, politics or otherwise.

        And there is a defensive reason for a politician to run. For the more centrist Democrat politician, a Mamdani win is very bad for your next election. As the Party veers further to the left, the Party’s backing for your future candidacy deteriorates substantially as Mamdani and AOC take control of the Party.

        In my experience, opportunities with minimal downside that don’t require huge investments of time while offering massive upside get filled. If you were ever thinking about running for office, or running for a higher office than you currently hold, this is likely the best opportunity that you are going to have.

        All of the above is not just theory, as I have a superb candidate who I believe can win who meets all of the criteria, but if I were to say his name or even reach out to him, it would have a negative effect on his candidacy, as I am a supporter of President Trump, and that alone taints anyone I would recommend for many and perhaps most NYC Democratic Party members. So rather than my making suggestions, I welcome yours.

        Who is your best centrist candidate who could go toe-to-toe with Mamdani on the campaign trail and on the debate stage? Let’s crowdsource the names and then do a poll.

        If someone is ready to raise their hand, I will take care of the fundraising.

        This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the right candidate. More importantly, it is an opportunity to save our City and be a superhero. Life is short and you must dare to be great.

        The time is now.

    • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
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      22 hours ago

      Hmmm, that would make 2 independents (Adams and Cuomo), Mamdani and a republican running in the general. Sounds like a great way to divide the democratic electorate and let the republican win.

  • usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
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    21 hours ago

    Vote in every primary. The establishment can’t fight as hard as they did for Cuomo everywhere. There are lot of primaries across the country that many people don’t even know are happening

    For instance, there’s one for the US House seat in VA-11 (Most of Fairfax county + Fairfax City) this Saturday prior to the September special election to replace Gerry Connolly who died from cancer

  • AlexLost@lemm.ee
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    21 hours ago

    I love how when the people speak, the politicians tell them to shut up I stead of listen. And the Democrats wonder why they struggle to gain ground?!

  • timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works
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    19 hours ago

    Other than the one Gillen the rest are nothing comments. No one says they won’t back him besides that. And rich people are going to back anyone who will let them keep their largesse. They donated to Democrats because they know a Republican isn’t going to win in NYC.

    This is a pretty BS article that is painting things that aren’t really there. At least not to any great extent.

  • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    Erectile dysfunction incarnate will tend to do that in the presence of a spine.

    Let alone ideas.

    Let along good ideas.

  • Gates9@sh.itjust.works
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    18 hours ago

    They will rig the general. Who owns the machines, is the software audited, how do they count the votes, are there tabulation servers involved?

    • anarchiddy@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
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      21 hours ago

      Mamdani has the majority opinion, that Israel has a right to exist as a state with equal rights. Zionists have a hard time accepting that as an answer but it’s a morally unobjectionable one.