Tuesday’s primaries in New York were very telling about where the Democrat Party is today. It bears little resemblance to the party of decades past. Back in the 1990s, the party used to be against socialism, pro-strong borders, and agreed that there are only two genders, and those are based on biology. But on Tuesday, three Democrat incumbents lost their primaries to candidates endorsed by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani. If you didn’t think today’s Democrats could get any more radical, well, you were wrong. It was a bad night for the Democrat establishment, but one powerful name emerged as Tuesday's clearest loser.
Republican strategist Brad Todd made that case Tuesday night on CNN NewsNight.
"But they're pulling the brand leftward. I mean, the Democratic Party now is the Democratic Socialist Party of America. They're for antisemitism. They're for confiscation. They're against capitalism," Todd said.
Neera Tanden, a former Biden administration official, cut in fast. "What? Bro, come on. This is what's happening. We're for anti-Semitism?” she said, mocking the charge.
Todd didn't flinch. "This is what's happening," he said.
He’s right, but I digress.
"And, you know, you also can look tonight and see somebody else is a big loser. That's Hakeem Jeffries. Hakeem Jeffries is going to lose these races in New York where Zohran Mamdani is endorsed," Todd said.
Tanden pushed back. "He didn't endorse in these races," she said.
Wrong. Todd laid out exactly what Jeffries did and what it means.
"He did endorse. He endorsed Goldman. He endorsed his incumbent members of Congress. If he can't get the Hispanic caucus chairman across the line in a city where he's the leading figure of the political machine, then his stick is very short in the U.S. Capitol, and that's because Hakeem Jeffries himself, as liberal as he is, is not far left enough for today's Democratic primary voters," Todd said.
Related: The Democrat Party Is Dead
And that’s exactly right. When the House Minority Leader can't move the needle in his own city, that tells you how little sway he actually has. Jeffries, handpicked by Nancy Pelosi to lead the House Democrats following her retirement from leadership, put his credibility on the line backing candidates he believed could hold the middle, and the base didn't follow. Heck, they didn’t even care.
Make no mistake about it: Tuesday's results put Jeffries' reputation under real pressure.
Mamdani's rise tells you exactly where the party's energy has gone. The democratic socialist New York mayor has become the symbol of where the far-left base actually wants to go, and that place has no patience for the cautious, institution-friendly approach Jeffries represents. When New York City voters choose Mamdani-endorsed candidates over the ones Jeffries backed, that's a verdict on his influence, and it isn't a flattering one.
On CNN NewsNight, Brad Todd bluntly says the Democrat Party has become the "Democratic Socialist Party of America," embracing antisemitism, confiscation, and anti-capitalism — while noting Hakeem Jeffries is a big loser.@BradOnMessage: “The Democratic Party now is the… pic.twitter.com/KUJ0sfW7k8
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) June 24, 2026
Today’s Democrat Party is as far left as it ever has been, and it’s still not enough for the party’s base. Hakeem Jeffries doesn’t lead his party anymore; the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) does, and they’ll be after him soon enough.
