New York Democrat says mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani 'too extreme to lead'
A moderate House Democrat from New York is criticizing New York City's presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
"Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City. His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs," Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., said in a statement Wednesday.
"Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments, which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing. He is the absolute wrong choice for New York."
It's the first pushback from a Democratic official to Mamdani's stunning victory in the first round of New York City's ranked choice voting primary tally.
Mamdani far outpaced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the first round, winning 43.5% of the vote compared to Cuomo's 36.4%.
Cuomo announced he would bow out of the primary but left it an open question whether he would join current New York City Mayor Eric Adams in running as an independent in the race.
The former governor, whose own issues include accusations of sexual harassment that derailed his time in Albany, told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo that he is not ruling out running again in November.
Gillen is a Long Island Democrat who unseated former Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., in the 2024 elections.
She's been known to break from her own party on issues like law enforcement and illegal immigration during her brief time in Congress so far.
Gillen is also breaking from Democratic leaders in her criticism of Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-proclaimed democratic socialist whose platform includes city-owned and operated grocery stores.
Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in public statements on Wednesday that they had spoken to Mamdani since his victory.
"He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity," Schumer said.
Jeffries' statement said, "Assemblyman Mamdani ran a strong campaign that relentlessly focused on the economy and bringing down the high cost of living in New York City."
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani's campaign for comment on Gillen's criticism.
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