Jeffries brushes off concern that Mamdani wins could hurt Democrats in midterms

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) brushed off concerns that the primary wins of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s three progressive picks Tuesday could hurt Democrats and their brand ahead of November.

“No, Donald Trump has a working relationship with the mayor of the city of New York, and he’s made that publicly and explicitly clear to America not once but twice in the Oval Office,” Jeffries told reporters Wednesday morning, when a reporter noted Republicans were using Tuesday’s primary results to argue that Democrats were moving too far to the left and asked if it would hurt the party.

“My condolences are extended to Republicans in the House who spent millions of dollars trying to pick [Rep.] Mike Lawler’s opponent, and they failed,” Jeffries added, referring to a group with reported ties to House Republican leadership unsuccessfully wading into the Democratic primary in Lawler’s battleground district. “And Mike Lawler’s going to be defeated in November.”

Democrats are vying to retake the House majority this November, and Republicans have long sought to use the New York City mayor’s success and his democratic socialist leanings to suggest that the Democratic Party is only growing more radical.

President Trump on Wednesday morning railed against Mamdani’s candidates’ victories in the Empire State, proclaiming that “America the Beautiful will NEVER be a Communist Country!!!” Trump and Mamdani, however, held a surprisingly chummy meeting last fall, when the president lauded the new mayor after calling him a “100% Communist Lunatic” on the campaign trail.

Three progressive Democrats endorsed by Mamdani won competitive House primaries on Tuesday night. Democratic socialist candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, as well as former mayoral candidate Brad Lander, a longtime progressive, sailed to victory in Tuesday’s primaries.

Avila Chevalier and Lander defeated New York Democratic Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman, respectively, who were both backed by Jeffries and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).

The primary wins are a major boost for Mamdani despite putting him at odds with some progressive allies on Capitol Hill. Jeffries made this divide clear on Wednesday, emphasizing that the two New York Democrats did not see eye-to-eye in the races.

“The mayor and I agree to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements, and 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 when asked if Mamdani was making enemies on Capitol Hill by endorsing against incumbents.

But Jeffries noted that the two had a “very good” relationship and “speak regularly.”

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Adriano Espaillat

Daniel Goldman

Donald Trump

Hakeem Jeffries

Kathy Hochul

Michael Lawler

Zohran Mamdani

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