Democratic Socialists won big in NY. Do they offer a way forward for Democrats?

0:00Tyler Bartla:It's Consider This, where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, a banner New York primary for left-wing candidates and what that means for the Democratic Party.

0:10Michelle Aslam:Where all three of the congressional candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zorhan Mamdani advanced to the midterms. Claire Valdez, she was declared the winner in Brooklyn's seventh congressional district. Daria Liza Avila-Chevillier, a community organizer. She toppled incumbent Adriano Espino. Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, he had a big win over incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman.

0:30Tyler Bartla:Tuesday's electoral victories were a major win for New York City Mayor Zoran Mondani, who put his political reputation on the line by endorsing the slate.

0:38Zorhan Mamdani:It's a statement that the status quo will no longer be sufficient.

0:41Tyler Bartla:But about a year ago, some in the Democratic Party establishment considered him a pariah. Here's Congressman Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey, speaking on CNBC last year. We don't need a job-killing socialist. Consider this. Since 2024, the Democratic Party has been struggling to define itself. So do centrist Democrats have something to learn from Mayor Tom Donning?

1:06Tyler Bartla:From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.

1:17Tyler Bartla:It's Consider This from NPR. Three congressional candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, one big in New York City last night. The trio of wins, two by Democratic Socialists, amounts to another major shift left for the Democratic Party. And the fact that Mamdani helped oust two incumbents from his own party has led to a lot of questions about the path forward for Democrats. I spoke with the New York mayor earlier and began by asking him what the three candidates he supported had in common.

1:44Zorhan Mamdani:At the core of each of their candidacies is a belief that working people have to return back to the heart of our politics. You could see it's a concern for the fact that in many of these races, we see special interests looking to buy the outcomes of them. We see a federal government that is embarking on immigration policy that is cruel and does nothing to serve in the interests of public safety. And we see an exhaustion with a foreign policy that would rather invest in bombs than in babies back home in our own districts. And in each of these candidacies, we also see a hunger from working New Yorkers for exactly that kind of politics.

2:21Tyler Bartla:What is this a collective statement against? Because these three wins, two incumbents being ousted is a pretty big anti-establishment statement.

2:29Zorhan Mamdani:It's a statement that the status quo will no longer be sufficient. It's a statement that working people are not willing to accept a politics that neglects their everyday needs. And I said in the lead up to yesterday evening, as I endorsed three candidates for Congress, five candidates for the state legislature, all of whom prevailed yesterday evening, that for those who are wondering when the race for 2028 begins, it was yesterday. Because what this slate shows, what New Yorkers have shown, it is a glimpse into the future that we have to bring forth to ensure that we're not just fighting back against a federal administration and its cruelty, but we're also fighting for a vision of working people.

3:07Tyler Bartla:I want to get back to that idea in a moment, but first I want to ask about some of the decisions you made yourself. As you are well aware, taking on incumbents in your own party is a pretty surprising move for most people in politics. There's been a lot of grumbling from officeholders across the state today. Why, to you, was that risk worth it?

3:26Zorhan Mamdani:Anytime there is the chance to deliver for working people, I think it is a risk worth taking. And what I saw in the candidacies of Daria Lisa Avila Chevalier, who last night prevailed and became the first Afro-Latina Dominican woman to now represent that district. What I saw in the candidacies of Claire Valdez, who will be the first Mexican-American and indigenous woman to represent that district. and what I saw in the candidacy of Brad Lander, the former controller who will now be the next congressmember representing New York 10, are candidacies that would fulfill our vision of delivering on an affordability agenda that is just as relevant as it was a year ago when I became the Democratic nominee for mayor in this city because we continue to live in the most expensive city in the United States of America.

4:11Tyler Bartla:I did see a lot of blind quotes from council members, from legislators in Albany amounting to, I don't know if I can trust the mayor at this point, Do you have any worry that this could alienate the coalitions you need to get stuff done?

4:23Zorhan Mamdani:I think this shows the fact that the vision that we have, the agenda that we have, is one that is in line with what New Yorkers want to see. We saw New Yorkers come out and vote for change. We saw them come out and vote for a new kind of politics. And I'm excited to deliver on exactly that kind of politics now with more partners in office, whether at the federal level or at the state level.

4:46Tyler Bartla:Israel was a major focus in several of these races. What is the best way to put what you want to see when it comes to foreign policy and aid for Israel if Democrats do win back the House next year?

4:57Zorhan Mamdani:I think Dari Elisa says it best. It's time to invest in babies, not bombs. You see in each of these three candidates, now soon to be Congress members, a commitment to co-sponsor the block the bombs legislation. and what that reflects is an exhaustion, not just a political exhaustion, but also a moral exhaustion with our nation's complicity in the continued killing of civilians, whether in Palestine or Lebanon or beyond. And all of this happening in a period that we have been told to describe as a ceasefire. And it is time that tens of billions of dollars that are killing innocent civilians are instead spent investing back into what are some of the poorest congressional districts in America to deliver for working people who help to make this city what it is, and yet are constantly thinking about if they can afford to live in this city.

5:46Tyler Bartla:This is the latest in a series of primary wins this spring and summer for Democratic Socialist candidates. There's been wins in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, here in Washington, D.C.'s mayor race, now New York congressional races. Why to you does the DSA message seem to be resonating so well right now?

6:03Zorhan Mamdani:It speaks to the fact that working people are fed up. And when we look at this country, we know that the only majority that really exists is that of the working class. And for too long, that hasn't been reflected in our politics. For too long, our politics has felt as if irrelevant to the struggles of a working person trying to pay their rent or going to the grocery store or thinking about having a kid. And what each of these candidates have shown is a willingness to speak directly to those struggles and not just name them, but also put forward a vision that would actually address those struggles and make it easier to live in this city.

6:38Zorhan Mamdani:And, you know, many of us, when we look back at the history of the Democratic Party, this idea of fighting for working people, it's not alien to what our party is about. In fact, it's at the heart of some of the greatest successes we've ever had. We think about FDR, we think about the New Deal policies that he gave rise to. And so much of that is exactly what working people are calling out for today. These are the kinds of Congress people and partners that will help to fulfill that.

7:05Tyler Bartla:There are a lot of people in the Democratic Party who think the opposite, who think a big reason the party lost in the last election cycle was it drifted too far to the left.

7:14Zorhan Mamdani:Well, I think what we see is that Democratic voters, which is where the Democratic Party draws its power from, feel very differently. And what is a party if not its voters? And what we see is that those voters have chosen leaders who are willing to fight for the working person. And no matter how you want to describe that, it is a fight that for far too long has been missing from the forefront of our politics.

7:34Tyler Bartla:A question adjacent to that is you are well aware how successful Republicans are at trying to link Democrats in more moderate swing districts to left-wing candidates, to DSA candidates. Any worry at any level, or what do you think the best path forward is that is the more prominent the DSA becomes, it makes it harder for Democrats to win a majority this fall? I invite Republicans to try and smear the cause of universal child care.

7:59Zorhan Mamdani:I invite Republicans to try and go after the idea that we should not spend billions of dollars bombing civilians abroad and instead investing those back in our districts. I invite Republicans to have to defend the indefensible because that's what they've been doing for far too long. And we've been told every time we take a step forward for working people that this will now become the new face of the Democratic Party. I think it's time that it does, because for far too long, we haven't been able to answer what we're fighting for, only who we're fighting. And now we have the answer.

8:27Tyler Bartla:Have you had a chance yet today to talk to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New Yorkers, about all of this?

8:36Zorhan Mamdani:I'll be speaking with Congressman Jeffries later this evening. And I look forward to that conversation because at the end of it, we're all trying to deliver for our city, for our state, for our country. And I'm excited at the fact that there's so much more to be done.

8:49Tyler Bartla:Last question, Mr. Mayor. Were you happier when these three candidates got their races called for them or when the Knicks won?

8:55Zorhan Mamdani:You know, last night was an incredible night. It is hard to pale, however, when we compare it to 53 years of wait. So got to go with the Knicks. Got to go with the real king of New York, Jalen Brunson.

9:05Tyler Bartla:New York City Mayor Zaron Mamdani, thank you so much for talking to us.

9:08Zorhan Mamdani:Very welcome. Thank you.

9:11Tyler Bartla:This episode was produced by Michelle Aslam and Tyler Bartlum. It was edited by Patrick Jaron Wadanan and Timbeet Ermias. Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dornick.

9:25Tyler Bartla:Let's consider this from NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.