THE CORBYNIZATION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONTINUES APACE: The Democrats’ Mamdani dilemma: Is Jew-hatred good politics?
With or without Hochul’s blessing, [Mamdani] continues to hold a commanding lead of 18.6% over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his nearest competitor in a four-man race. His three opponents may have more combined support than Mamdani (48.4% to 43.4%). But as long as the trio of Cuomo, current Mayor Eric Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa refuse to unite behind a single challenger, Mamdani seems to be coasting to an easy plurality victory.
That means that New Yorkers need to brace themselves for four years of the rule of a Socialist extremist whose single-minded support for Israel’s elimination is not something that he thinks he needs to moderate or downplay. Like his threat to Netanyahu, his refusal to even distance himself from antisemitic chants about Jewish genocide and terrorism against Jews—“From the river to the sea” and “Globalize the intifada”—indicates the depth of his ideological commitment to cheerleading for Hamas and jihad against the one Jewish state on the planet.
But Hochul, whose power over the city’s budget gives her the ability to play a pivotal role in limiting the harm that Mamdani can do to the city’s economy and the security of its citizens, has higher priorities than whether New York’s Jewish communities feel safe. She’s up for re-election in 2026 and faces a formidable opponent in Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the likely Republican nominee for governor, whose national reputation rests in no small part on her zealousness in holding the presidents of elite universities accountable for their toleration and encouragement of antisemitism. To hold off a challenge from a well-funded opponent like Stefanik, she’s going to need a united Democratic Party and the enthusiastic support of its left-wing activist base.
Stefanik waits in the wings
That’s why—after dithering for nearly three months, and under pressure from pro-Israel and moderate Democrats to keep her distance from him—Hochul decided that she had more to lose by failing to endorse him than the potential backlash against her for aligning herself with an extremist such as Mamdani.
Not everyone agrees with that judgment, and Stefanik probably celebrated Hochul’s decision. The upstate congresswoman likely intends to spend 2026 linking the governor to an antisemitic Socialist. And considering that the GOP results in the last two statewide elections—in 2022 when Hochul’s Republican challenger Lee Zeldin got nearly 46.7% of the vote and in 2024 when President Donald Trump received 43.3%—were their best showings in 20 years, Stefanik has reason for optimism in a state where no member of her party has won a statewide office since 2002.
National Republicans are also viewing the prospect of Mamdani being mayor as a gift to them in the 2026 midterms and perhaps even the 2028 presidential election, even if it is terrible for New York. The White House surely intends to make Mamdani the poster child for the Democrats’ inability to marginalize woke extremists who have linked them to unpopular positions on crime, illegal immigration, gender ideology and Jew-hatred on college campuses.
A whole lot of contradictions will be heightened in the next four years.
