Zohran Mamdani Now Has Real Power. Here’s What He Wants to Do With It.

Hizzoner has transferred his magic to other politicians in New York. The big question now is if Mamdani-ism can go national.

Being the mayor of New York is an enormous task for anyone, let alone a 34-year-old. But Zohran Mamdani’s ambitions seem to go beyond leading the Big Apple. He wants to help remake the national Democratic Party. And he may succeed. All three of the candidates Mamdani endorsed in New York-area House Democratic primaries won on Tuesday night. Those victories will likely push House Democrats in Washington further left and embolden the increasing successful progressive wing of the party.

With the mayor’s backing, Brad Lander, the former city comptroller who finished behind Mandami in the mayoral race last year, resoundingly defeated incumbent Representative Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District. A bigger sign of the mayor’s sway was the 7th Congressional District victory of Claire Valdez, a first-term New York assemblywoman, who easily beat Antonio Reynoso, a former city councilman and longtime figure in the city’s politics. Reynoso had the backing of the district’s retiring incumbent, Nydia Velazquez. Lander could have won without Mamdani’s endorsement, but Valdez almost certainly would not have.

The stunner was the win of Mamdani’s third candidate, activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who narrowly defeated incumbent Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District. Avila Chevalier had never run for office before, while Espaillat is a five-term congressman and the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Avila Chevalier’s win was entirely about the political power of the mayor and the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which boosted Mamdani last year and his preferred candidates this year.

It’s not an exact parallel, but Avila Chevalier beating Espaillat echoes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s win over then-Representative Joe Crowley in 2018. This is another sign of voter........

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