By Alexander Hall | Fox News
Veteran strategist warns Zohran Mamdani's win could damage party nationwide after shocking defeat of Andrew Cuomo
Veteran strategist James Carville warned on Wednesday how democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayoral primary may be a burden for the Democratic Party.
Mamdani, a Ugandan-born New York State Assemblyman from Queens, caused a major upset by defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the race to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for New York City mayor. Republicans and some Democrats have blasted Mamdani, warning he is a grim sign of America’s political future.
Carville, one of the most famous strategists in American politics, has been speaking about the Democratic Party’s need to ditch far-left politics since well before the 2024 election. He spoke about Mamdani’s surprising victory on his podcast, warning it may be yet another hurdle for struggling Democrats.
The strategist noted that Mamdani “has not walked back” calls for “global infitada” [sic]. Carville was referencing how Mamdani refused to disavow the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” which pro-Israeli supporters argue is a call for violence, and Israel opponents tout as a mere call to struggle against oppression.
“Maybe he’ll turn out to be a very skilled candidate that can skillfully navigate some of what I refer to as ‘esoteric’ positions,” Carville said, appearing to refer to Mamdani’s policy of government-run grocery stores, which bewildered the seasoned strategist.
“There’s a lot of baseball left here,” Carville said of the mayoral election. “We’ve got a lot of baseball left to play.”
Hunt argued that New York City is not a reliable indicator for America at-large, citing how many of its most iconic mayors did not represent a larger political shift outside of their city.
“However, I do believe that Republicans will jump on this,” he said.