
New York establishment Democrats mull over Mamdani charm offensive
The Democratic establishment has been looking for alternatives, but none really satisfy.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week announced an independent run after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, but a number of Democrats who spoke to The Hill have doubts he can win. Some also haven't forgotten past Cuomo controversies.
Incumbent Eric Adams is also running as an independent, but he has had a scandal-tarred career and his tilting toward MAGA and Trump World hasn't won him too many friends in the Democratic establishment.
Political observers say there aren't enough moderates to go around for one — let alone two candidates — and if the establishment wants to prevail, either Adams or Cuomo should exit the race.
'You can't have multiple alternatives,' said Grant Reeher, the director of Syracuse University's Campbell Public Affairs Institute. 'I just don't see any way that Mamdani doesn't win unless one of these folks drops out.'
'If I was a Democratic strategist for the whole party in New York City, and I commanded authority, I would put Adams and Cuomo in a room, and I would say, 'You guys are going to flip a coin,'' he added.
A HarrisX poll out earlier this month — before Cuomo announced his independent bid — showed Adams trailing with 13 percent of the vote and Mamdani leading with 26 percent, followed by Cuomo at 23 percent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at 22 percent.
In a three-way race without Adams, the same poll revealed Cuomo would lead the field by 2 percentage points in front of Mamdani.
Mamdani appears to recognize the potential danger to his candidacy if voters opposed to him rally around one independent choice.
The left-wing candidate this past week sought to make inroads with business leaders and establishment Democrats, including during a trip to Washington where he met Democrats at an event with liberal star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
On Friday, he met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in New York. Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Jeffries called the face-to-face 'constructive, candid and community-centered.'
The spokesperson said Jeffries and Mamdani also discussed a 'variety of other important issues including public safety, rising antisemitism, gentrification' and the importance of 'taking back the House in 2026.'
Mamdani also recently earned the endorsement of Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.), another rising Democratic star.
Some of Mamdani's efforts appeared to be helping him.
'He's already had those conversations, been in those meetings, and it doesn't seem that there is a wholesale public rebuke of him,' said Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, who served as executive director of the New York State Democratic Party.
Smikle said that signals 'that a lot of those constituencies and voters are willing to hear more and are likely going to find a way to work with him.'
Mamdani has impressed some Democrats who say the party needs fresh blood.
'He is campaigning like he isn't 94 years old,' said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale, who hails from New York. 'He is out hitting the streets and events and talking to tons of people. He is doing press interviews and podcasts and he is young and natively comfortable online for doing his own videos and social media.'
By meeting with establishment operatives and backers, Mamdani has been chipping away at a part of the electorate that strategists say is critical to both Cuomo and Adams.
The two independents are, 'for a number of moderate voters, the business community, the real estate community, a firewall against more progressive politics,' Smilke said.
Some observers in the race differ over who is the stronger challenger to Mamdani.
New-York based Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, who worked for Cuomo as a special adviser in 2014, holds the view it is Adams.
'Cuomo has lost once; he probably will lose again,' she said.
'The only one who really has a path when it comes down to Cuomo, Sliwa, and Adams is Adams,' Del Percio added. 'If he's willing to reinvent himself a bit in light of people being scared of Mamdani — it's almost Cuomo's argument, except I think that there's more that Adams can do now.'
'If you tell [Adams] now, 'You may actually be able to win,' he'll twist himself into a pretzel to do it,' Del Percio added. 'If you told him he had to be disciplined, and this is how you do it, and he has a real campaign, I think he could do it.'
Other voices who think Cuomo could win more support point to Adams's unpopular tenure as mayor.
While Adams was charged with corruption charges last year, a judge permanently dismissed them in April. The dismissal came weeks after the Trump administration asked prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams.
Reeher said Adams has been tarnished with financial corruption and incompetency.
'Nobody's really making the argument that Andrew Cuomo is incompetent and doesn't know what he's doing,' he said.
Cuomo faces his own hurdles. The former governor's time in Albany came to an end with 13 women accusing of him sexual assault and accusations that the state purposefully under-reported COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. And his political opponents, particularly Mamdani, have not let him or the New York City electorate forget it.
Some criticized Cuomo for reentering the race last week with an ad filmed on the Upper East Side, a sign to political observers that he has learned nothing about appealing to the issue that New Yorkers care most about — and the issue Mamdani won on in the Democratic primary — affordability.
But there is still great worry about Mamdani in the party, strategists acknowledge.
'He can't be the future of the party,' one strategist said. 'He's only going to be fodder for Republicans.'
Reeher agreed, saying 'If I put myself in the place of a Republican strategist, I'm wanting [Mamdani] to win.'
'I can imagine the advertisement would be … a list of some of the most extreme things that he has stood for … and I would say, 'This is what Democrats do when they're left to their own devices,'' he said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Politico
14 minutes ago
- Politico
House Dems Find Their Mojo With the Epstein Saga
In the middle is Trump, who once had a well-documented friendship with Epstein and who has been referenced in court documents surrounding the now deceased financier — though who is not accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Trump has tried to smother the controversy, even scolding his supporters for obsessing. 'Everyone's always talking about Trump being 'Teflon' — obviously that's because all Hill Republicans are pretty much a suit of armor for him, right? But in this instance, they're not,' said a senior Democratic aide discussing the strategy. 'And so it exposes him, I think, to more attacks that otherwise would be brushed off — and makes it easier for us to drag his numbers down while creating chaos among the Republicans.' The most interesting part about the strategy is how organically it came together. After watching the MAGA-sphere melt down over the administration's announcement in early July that there was no 'client list,' Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) grabbed the issue, telling his colleagues that the matter was kryptonite for the GOP, according to people close to him. In the House Rules Committee, ranking Democrat Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and his team had similarly been watching the feeding frenzy with right-wing podcasters and influencers, sensing an opportunity to needle Republicans so clearly out of step with their own base. Khanna found an unexpected ally in libertarian gadfly Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), teaming up to launch a discharge petition that could let House members circumvent Johnson's attempt to keep the issue from a vote on the floor. Through it all, Democratic leaders were cheering on their members. Beyond giving Khanna tacit support to work with Massie, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries set the tone for members early last week. He insisted in press conferences and in private meetings that this issue was a lose-lose situation for Republicans: either Trump and his allies had been lying for years about what was in those files or they were right and were now hiding evidence to protect their cronies. For longtime Hill watchers like myself, Jeffries' embrace of the scandal was a surprise. As Axios wrote last week, Jeffries has been known for an 'often taciturn approach to salacious stories of the day, preferring to remain disciplined and on-message in his public communications.' But like his members, Jeffries sensed the Epstein scandal was different, insisting it could feed into a narrative of corruption that would resonate beyond just the Democratic base.


UPI
16 minutes ago
- UPI
DOJ fires newly appointed N.J. district attorney amid Trump attack on judiciary system
Alina Habba, President Donald Trump's former defense lawyer, speaks after being sworn in as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Friday, March 28, 2025. On Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Desiree Leigh Grace as the newly appointed District Attorney for New Jersey because a panel of New Jersey judges selected her over Habba. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 23 (UPI) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Desiree Leigh Grace, as the Trump administration continues to attack the independence of the U.S. judiciary system. Bondi announced that Grace had been fired hours after a panel of New Jersey judges voted to appoint her as the state's district attorney over President Donald Trump's pick for the position, Alina Habba. Habba, a former personal attorney to the president, was appointed acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey by Trump in March. Grace had been serving as her first assistant. Habba "has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant. Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has been removed," Bondi said in a statement Tuesday. "This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges -- especially when they threaten the President's core Article II powers." The Trump administration has come under staunch criticism from the legal profession over its actions that threaten the judiciary and its independence. Since returning to office in January, Trump has threatened to impeach judges who rule against him, sanctioned law firms and lawyers linked to his political adversaries and has ignored or defied rulings he disagrees with. The firing of Grace, a career public servant who was lawfully appointed by the court, "is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn't agree with them and undermine judicial independence," Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both New Jersey Democrats, said in a joint statement. "This administration may not like the law, but they are not above it." They added that the firing is another example of Trump's Justice Department "again criticizing a court that acted within its authority, continuing a pattern of publicly undermining judicial decisions and showing disregard for the rule of law and the separation of powers." Todd Blanche, deputy attorney general, said earlier on X that Habba's term expires at midnight Friday and that the judges' "rush" to appoint Grace "reveals what this was always about: a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law." The order appointing Grace U.S. attorney general of New Jersey was signed by District Judge Renee Marie Bumb, a President George W. Bush appointee. "When judges act like activists, they undermine confidence in our justice system," Blanche said on X. "Alina is President Trump's choice to lead -- and no partisan bench can override that."


Politico
21 minutes ago
- Politico
Johnson tries to contain Epstein dissent
IN TODAY'S EDITION:— Republicans are getting impatient over Epstein— GOP leaders eye clawing back education funding— Dems slam today's GOP meeting with Dr. Oz Speaker Mike Johnson is managing a delicate balance between appeasing antsy Republicans over the Jeffrey Epstein files and buying President Donald Trump time by shutting down the House early for August recess. The Louisiana Republican tried to quell dissent in a closed-door House GOP meeting Tuesday. He told members to stay united, arguing it would take time for the administration to release files that would also protect the names of Epstein's victims, Meredith Lee Hill and Hailey Fuchs report. But Republicans are getting impatient. In an Oversight subcommittee hearing Tuesday, lawmakers voted to compel the full committee to subpoena Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Oversight Chair James Comer later told reporters he had warned GOP leadership last week that if the Epstein files came up in his committee, most of his members would vote on the side of transparency. 'Everyone knew that,' Comer said, adding that his team will visit Maxwell in prison for the interview once they negotiate details with her attorneys. The saga has given Democrats just the platform they needed to land a successful blow on the White House. In her latest column, Rachael Bade outlines just how much the party has found their mojo in effectively hijacking the House and sticking it to Trump. Democratic efforts to further drive the MAGA wedge has legs beyond this week. The bipartisan bill led by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, which would compel the release of more files, could hit the floor as soon as lawmakers return in September. That means Republican leaders are bracing for Democrats to keep the Epstein issue hot during August recess. And some of their own members who are itching for an outlet acknowledge that five weeks off may not stop Johnson's headache. 'The Epstein issue has contributed to their desire to just get us out of town because they hope that the energy will dissipate,' Massie told reporters Tuesday. 'I doubt that's the case.' GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING. Don't forget to wear your sneakers to the Hill today — the Sneaker Caucus is hosting its third annual Sneaker Day (with awards given to the five best sneakers at 1:45 p.m. in Longworth 1539). Air Jordan designer Wilson Smith Ill will speak on a panel at 1 p.m. Email your Inside Congress crew at crazor@ mmccarthy@ and bguggenheim@ Follow our live coverage at WHAT WE'RE WATCHINGWith help from Jordan Williams The House will vote on the China Financial Threat Mitigation Act of 2025, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025 and the Enhancing Multi-Class Share Disclosures Act under suspension of the rules at 3:30 p.m. The Senate will confirm Arielle Roth as assistant Commerce secretary for communications and information and John Hurley as undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial crimes at 11 a.m. The Senate will vote on a motion to proceed to the fiscal 2026 MilCon-VA appropriations bill, as well as a cloture vote on Zachary Bluestone's nomination for U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri at 2 p.m. A confirmation vote on Bluestone is expected at 5 p.m., along with a cloture vote on Aaron Szabo's nomination be an assistant EPA administrator. — House Appropriations will mark up the fiscal 2026 National Security, State Department and Related Programs bill at 10 a.m. — House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar will hold a news conference at 10:15 a.m. — Ways and Means will meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at 2 p.m. The rest of the week: The House will leave for August recess. The Senate will continue to work through appropriations bills and Trump's nominations. Pro subscribers receive this newsletter with a full congressional schedule and can browse our comprehensive calendar of markups, hearings and other notable events around Washington. Sign up for a demo. THE LEADERSHIP SUITE Dems debate shutdown strategy Democratic leaders emerged from a closed-door meeting on Tuesday without any specific ultimatums for Republicans, after discussing their government shutdown strategy ahead of the government funding deadline in 10 weeks. 'House and Senate Democrats are in complete and total alignment,' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters after the meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The two leaders privately huddled before bringing in a larger group of Democratic leaders. Leaders reiterated they are approaching negotiations in good faith and encouraged Republicans to do the same. Democrats 'want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,' Schumer said, but 'the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.' Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House's top Democratic appropriator, said this is the worst appropriations process she has seen in her 34 years in Congress. 'It has not been what we have experienced,' DeLauro said. 'There's always been that give and take to pass the bills.' Privately, Democratic leaders have discussed the need to focus on how government funding affects 'people,' rather than how Republicans are undermining the government funding 'process,' two people granted anonymity to discuss the private talks said. Some Democrats are already making their opposition to the appropriations bills clear. Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Peter Welch of Vermont voted against the first procedural step of the Mil Con-VA appropriations bill. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders also opposed moving forward with the package. GOP leaders eye second rescissions package Republican leaders are in talks with the White House about a second rescissions package, after pushing through the first rescissions package last week, Calen reports with Juan Perez Jr. and Eli Stokols. The package would include Education Department funding, which was first reported by The Daily Signal. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise did not disclose the specifics of upcoming rescissions but told Calen talks were well underway. 'We haven't made a final decision on what will be in the second rescissions package, but we're of course talking about it,' Scalise said. 'The administration is very interested in it.' Scalise also said the Trump administration is 'having talks with appropriators' and will ultimately decide when to send it over and what's in it. It's not clear how much the package would cut, but Johnson told Republicans in recent days this group of federal funding cuts won't be as big as the first, according to two people granted anonymity to share details of private discussions. POLICY RUNDOWN CRAPO EYES FUTURE TAX, HEALTH BILLS — Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo told reporters Tuesday he's looking at policies across his panel's jurisdiction to move in year-end legislative pursuits. 'We're going to be looking in the healthcare arena. We're going to be looking in the tax arena still,' said Crapo, noting bipartisan efforts last year to enact a legislative overhaul to pharmaceutical benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drug manufacturers, health insurance plans and pharmacies. Crapo said he 'would not oppose' reversing a new limitation on gambling tax deductions implemented by the GOP's domestic policy bill, which caused a big stir in the betting industry. He also reiterated his support for addressing upcoding, a form of Medicare fraud where providers submit a claim for a costlier service than the one that was provided. The conversations around a bipartisan health deal are in a very early stage, with Johnson telling reporters Tuesday that an extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits — the main ask by Democrats in exchange for coming to the negotiating table — hasn't come up yet. Extending those credits would get an immense amount of pushback from deficit hawks in the House, however. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris noted to reporters Monday that extending the premium tax credits would cost $300 billion and be 'a non-starter.' DEMS SLAM GOP MEETING WITH DR. OZ — Democrats on the House Ways and Means committee plan to call out Republicans for holding an off-the record roundtable with CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz this morning, said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a committee Democrat. 'They could have done this as a hearing with the full bells and whistles… allow reporters to come in, but they're choosing not to,' Gomez said in an interview. 'I think they know we'd kick the crap out of them… [Oz] might play a doctor on TV, but he's not an administrator. He doesn't know the job.' Republicans, meanwhile, say they have plenty of items on their agenda for the bipartisan briefing. Rep. Aaron Bean, for instance, intends to press Oz on the importance of legislation he co-sponsored with committee member Rep. Kevin Hern, which would require CMS to provide more accurate data to consumers on different kinds of Medicare plans. HOUSE GOP KEEN TO SCRAP CAP GAINS ON HOUSE SALES — House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith appeared receptive Tuesday to Trump's idea to eliminate capital gains on sales of homes. When asked about whether he would seek to codify the proposal in legislation, Smith told reporters on Wednesday, 'I'm always looking for tax cuts on Americans.' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has a new bill that would do just that. Committee Rep. Ron Estes, however, said in an interview Tuesday he's not sure the legislation would increase housing supply, while another member of the panel, Rep. Lloyd Smucker, said he'd have to look at the proposal's total cost. Financial Services member Andy Barr lauded the idea in an interview Tuesday and said Republicans should eliminate capital gains taxes on investment properties, too: ''Yes' on the president's idea, great idea. And build on that.' SENATE GOP UNVEILS NEW CRYPTO BILL — Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott and Sens. Cynthia Lummis, Bill Hagerty and Bernie Moreno released draft legislation Tuesday for a digital asset market structure overhaul,Jasper Goodman reports. It's the Senate's version of the House's CLARITY ACT, which passed the House on July 17 with support from 78 Democrats and would divvy up regulation of digital assets under the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E: CAMPAIGN STOP HARDER GETS A REMATCH — Former Stockton, California Mayor Kevin Lincoln has launched another bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Josh Harder, Juliann Ventura reports. Lincoln, a Republican who unseated prominent Democrat Michael Tubbs in an upset in Stockton's 2021 mayoral race, lost to Harder in last year's House contest by fewer than 4 percentage points. Harder's Central Valley seat is a target for the NRCC. JOB BOARD Abigail Gost is now comms director for Rep. Rob Wittman. She most recently was deputy comms director for Rep. Brad Finstad. Greer Foster is now director of scheduling for Rep. Michael Cloud. She most recently was acting deputy scheduler and assistant to the chief for Sen. James Lankford. Iyanla Kollock has been promoted to legislative director for Rep. Shomari Figures. Scott Prutting joins the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council as special assistant. Scott was previously a policy analyst for the Interior subcommittee on House Appropriations. Tammy Pham has been promoted to legislative director for Rep. Sylvia Garcia. TUNNEL TALK MEMBER SECURITY UPDATE — House lawmakers are getting an increase in funds they can use for personal security, including at their homes, our Katherine Tully-McManus reports amid an increase in threats against lawmakers. The announcement came during the closed-door GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning, during which House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil announced an 'updated Member security framework.' A growing number of lawmakers have asked for more protection when outside the Capitol grounds. GOODBYE LONGWORTH DUNKIN' — House eateries originally scheduled to close at the end of the week will close starting today as lawmakers leave early for recess. Get your last Capitol medium iced from Dunks. THE BEST OF THE REST Young Progressives Are Figuring Out How to Use Zohran Mamdani's Playbook, from Oriana González and Shifra Dayak at NOTUS John Thune Tells Ruthless Podcast He's Ready To Help Fix Transfer Portal, NIL Problems In College Sports, from Trey Wallace at OutKick HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sen. Raphael Warnock … former Rep. John Hall … POLITICO's Lisa Kashinsky and Jake Traylor … Stephanie Grisham … Dean Aguillen of OGR … David Brock … Mary Crane of Targeted Victory … Reuters' Erin Banco … Judy Lichtman … Edelman's Courtney Gray Haupt … Tracie Pough … Gabriel Barnett … Newsmax's Jon Glasgow … Monica Venzke of American Bridge 21st Century … State's Kenya James … Monica Lewinsky … former Justice Anthony Kennedy TRIVIA TUESDAY'S ANSWER: Jamie Gillespie correctly answered that the only U.S. president who was born on the Fourth of July was Calvin Coolidge. TODAY'S QUESTION, from Ben Jacobs: Republicans passed a proposal in committee to name the opera house at the Kennedy Center after Melania Trump. Which president's daughter pursued a career as an opera singer? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@