What Makes Democrats So Afraid of Zohran Mamdani?

"To that illustrious lineage, we can add the perennial spectacle of the Democratic establishment blanching before the prospect of a successful movement-driven populist campaign. The latest campaign in question, of course, is Zohran Mamdani's bid to be the next mayor of New York, and skittish party leaders are already declaring it a pox upon their efforts to recapture a House majority in the 2026"

"No, this is simply how you get to be a respected strategist in the upper echelons of the Democratic consensusphere: You only perceive threats to your left, and you tirelessly position yourself as the voice of reasoned moderation, in touch with the authentically centrist impulses of the Real American Median Voter. Witness a curious recent report in Politico bearing the pitch-perfect Beltway headline " 'Giddy' Republicans Cheer Mamdani's Impact on Democrats.""

Democratic establishment reacts with disproportionate alarm to movement-driven progressive campaigns and treats local mayoral bids as existential threats to national House prospects. The reaction to Zohran Mamdani's mayoral bid exemplifies a pattern of centrist strategists fixating on leftward risks while overlooking the electoral damage posed by extreme-right candidates. Beltway media narratives amplify claims that Republicans welcome intraparty divisions and thereby validate centrist caution. Such strategic caution neglects differences in constituencies, timing, and issue salience between municipal and federal contests and reflects an elite reflex to defend perceived median-voter orthodoxy against insurgent currents.

Read at The Nation