"Every pressing question about the Democrats hinges on who their next generation of leaders will be. It has taken an excruciatingly long time for them to emerge. But on Tuesday, three new candidates are getting their auditions. Abigail Spanberger is running for governor in Virginia; Mikie Sherrill is the nominee for governor in New Jersey; and Zohran Mamdani has led in polling in the race for mayor in New York City."
"I'll be at Mamdani's Election Night party in New York City. If he wins, as he's expected to, I'll be watching for how he frames this political moment in his speech, and how in particular he addresses the powerful and well-financed factions in city politics that did not support him. The end of the campaign was ugly. Mamdani was slimed as a communist, a jihadist, an outsider."
Off-cycle elections lack national drama but decide consequential gubernatorial and mayoral contests that may signal the Democratic Party's future. Three candidates represent divergent paths: Abigail Spanberger, a former C.I.A. officer running for Virginia governor; Mikie Sherrill, a military veteran and New Jersey gubernatorial nominee; and Zohran Mamdani, a mayoral frontrunner in New York inspired by Bernie Sanders. Each candidacy tests the party's ability to coalesce coalitions. Observers will watch whether moderate veterans or more progressive insurgents prevail, what coalitions victorious candidates assemble, and how winners frame victory or concession speeches.
Read at The New Yorker
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