The Memo: Left’s wins sharpen national debate among Democrats

Administration The Memo: Left’s wins sharpen national debate among Democrats Comments: by Niall Stanage - 06/25/26 6:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Niall Stanage - 06/25/26 6:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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The left won big in New York on Tuesday, adding new fuel to a fiery national debate roiling the Democratic Party.

The argument pits those who say Democratic voters are hungry for a more aggressive, transformative approach against those who argue radicalism is a recipe for electoral defeat anywhere beyond urban, progressive strongholds.

The first camp lambastes the Democratic establishment for being too timid and beholden to powerful interests on economic policy and on foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. They also say party leaders in Washington have been ineffectual when it comes to countering the Trump administration.

The more centrist camp blasts back that the activist-left is out of line with the sensibilities of the nation at large and is living in an ideological bubble.

On Tuesday, three leftist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) won congressional primaries. Two did so by beating incumbents.

Community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier vanquished the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) in the 13th District, while former city comptroller Brad Lander defeated Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) in the 10th District.

Claire Valdez, currently a member of the New York state assembly, won the primary for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) in the 7th District.

Avila Chevalier and Valdez are both members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), as is Mamdani himself. Lander is a former DSA member.

Usamah Andrabi, the communications director of Justice Democrats, a prominent group on the left that works to elect more progressive candidates, told this column that Tuesday’s results were a signpost to a new political landscape.

“These are not simply electoral victories. These are electoral victories powered by grassroots movements that have really awakened in so many voters the realization that they are far stronger than their Democratic representatives have wanted them to feel,” he said.

Andrabi added that “corporate Democratic incumbents should start counting their days” left in office. Not even well-funded attacks, he asserted, “can stop the movement that is building across the country.”

Matt Bennett, executive vice president for public affairs at Third Way, an organization that advocates more centrist policies, countered by noting the staunchly Democratic lean of Tuesday’s key New York districts. They are vastly different from the competitive races that will decide control of the House in November, he said.

“To think now that you can run as a DSA candidate in a swing district and win? It is insane to think that,” Bennett insisted.

Bennett also contended that the political history of some of the candidates who won on Tuesday — in terms of inflammatory old social media posts and advocacy of policies like the abolition of prisons— makes it “Christmas morning for Republicans.”

Somewhere in the middle of the internecine battle are those who accept that the “socialist” label carries negative connotations, especially with older Americans, but also recognize the Democratic Party needs to show more fight.

“The label of ‘democratic socialist’ is not going to very popular in Miami, I get that,” said veteran Democratic strategist Tad Devine.

“But the policies and platforms? Any candidate who is for universal healthcare, for standing up for people in terms of their wages, for solving the problems with healthcare, is going to connect with people who are looking for new leadership.”

The debate will echo through this November’s elections — and beyond. A huge question looming over 2028 is whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will enter the presidential fray.

Tuesday’s results could make the idea of a primary challenge to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) more appealing for Ocasio-Cortez. Schumer is scheduled to seek reelection in 2028.

Mamdani, for his part, savored Tuesday’s triumphs.

Speaking at a victory party, he referenced his own upset win last year, insisting: “A year ago was not the end of a political movement. It was the beginning.”

The mayor added, “The old politics that got us to this crisis is not the politics that is going to get us out of this crisis.”

Meanwhile, the GOP is seeking to make hay while the sun shines on the left.

Trump complained on social media on Wednesday morning: “Mayor Mamdani pulled through 3 solid Communists, and has received loud and universal applause from the Fake News Media.”

Democratic socialism is not the same thing as communism.

Online, prominent conservative commentators continue to highlight old deleted, inflammatory tweets from Avila Chevalier in particular.

CNN has noted that those social media posts include “ones that called for abolishing police, prisons and borders; tweets about communism; calls for open borders and zero deportations; and expletive-laden attacks on Democrats.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) lamented to Sean Hannity of Fox News that the U.S. was experiencing “the dancing days of the dirtbag left.”

It’s worth noting, however, that Fetterman has become alienated from his own party, in part because his vigorous backing for Israel sits discordantly with the party’s base.

A Gallup poll earlier this year found that, when adults who identify as Democrats are asked whether they have more sympathy for the Palestinians or for the Israelis, 65 percent are in the first category and just 17 percent in the second.

There is no mistaking the continuing salience of the issue. Attitudes to Israel formed the crucial lines dividing Goldman and Lander on Tuesday.

Goldman is a generally progressive figure, but he balks at some harder criticism of Israel and was endorsed by the controversial American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He was trounced by close to a two-to-one margin by Lander, who refers to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “genocide.”

The result was yet one more piece of evidence, among many, of how fast the party is shifting.

The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.