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Fox News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Mamdani's primary win exposes Democrat divide as top leaders withhold endorsements
Zohran Mamdani's primary night success shocked the political establishment this week, exposing a generational divide among New York Democrats. New York Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the race for City Hall on Tuesday night. The moderate Democrat confirmed Wednesday that he "had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before [Tuesday], and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent. Those concerns remain." While fellow self-described democratic socialist, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., threw her political weight behind Mamdani ahead of his primary win, national congressional Democratic leaders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, did not outright endorse Mamdani after he declared victory. "He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity," Schumer said Wednesday. When pressed by reporters about his non-endorsement, Schumer refused to elaborate on what Mamdani's win meant for the Democratic Party's future. Jeffries congratulated Mamdani on his "decisive primary victory," and confirmed his plan to speak with the presumptive nominee the day after he declared victory. Yet, the House Democratic leader refused to formally endorse Mamdani. Mamdani, whose campaign galvanized supporters on the ground and on social media, has proposed what conservatives deem radical ideas, like government-run grocery stores, free bus service, tuition-free city universities, rent freezes and free childcare, among others. Schumer and Jeffries did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's inquiry about their non-endorsements and whether the New York Democrats plan to rally behind Mamdani in November. Moderate New York Democrats, including Sen. Kristen Gillibrand and Reps. Ritchie Torres, Adriano Espaillat and Pat Ryan, are also yet to endorse Mamdani. Those congressional Democrats, as well as Suozzi, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital inquiry about whether they planned to endorse Mamdani. Torres had also endorsed Cuomo in the primary. And Espaillat congratulated Mamdani on Wednesday but did not outright endorse him. Rep. Dan Goldman, who endorsed state Sen. Zellnor Myrie in the Democratic primary, has not yet endorsed Mamdani since his primary win, and did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether he would. Meanwhile, longtime New York Democratic congressman, Jerry Nadler, clearly endorsed Mamdani on Wednesday, comparing his victory Tuesday to President Barack Obama's political rise. "Zohran is someone who will be a partner with me in Washington to take on Donald Trump. I've spoken to him today about his commitment to fighting antisemitism, and we'll work with all New Yorkers to fight against all bigotry and hate," Nadler said, in an apparent reference to accusations that Mamdani is antisemitic, particularly over his refusal to condemn the controversial rallying cry, "Globalize the intifada." Like Suozzi, New York Democrat Rep. Lauren Gillen refused to endorse Mamdani, writing on social media Wednesday, "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. 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." Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for comment. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital Thursday that Cuomo is not dropping out of the race. The former governor will keep the spot he secured earlier this year on the "Fight & Deliver" ballot line. But the sources said that Cuomo had not committed yet to running an active general election campaign through the summer and into the autumn. And Mayor Eric Adams announced his re-election campaign Thursday on the steps of New York City Hall. He decided to run as an independent amid low approval ratings and his since-dropped federal corruption charges. Former federal prosecutor Jim Walden is also running as an Independent, and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa will once again be the Republican nominee in November's mayoral election.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Gun control crusader and former US Rep. Carolyn McCarthy dead at 81
Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who successfully ran for Congress in 1996 as a crusader for gun control after a mass shooting on a New York commuter train left her husband dead and her son severely wounded, has died. She was 81. News of her death was shared Thursday by several elected officials on her native Long Island and by Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Committee. Details about her death were not immediately available. McCarthy went from political novice to one of the nation's leading advocates for gun control legislation in the aftermath of the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre. However, the suburban New York Democrat found limited success against the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment advocates. McCarthy announced in June 2013 that she was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. She announced her retirement in January 2014. Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi said the nation has 'lost a fierce champion.' 'Carolyn channeled her grief and loss into advocacy for change, becoming one of the most dedicated gun violence prevention advocates,' Suozzi said on X. She became a go-to guest on national TV news shows after each ensuing gun massacre, whether it was at Columbine High School or Sandy Hook Elementary School. Known as the 'gun lady' on Capitol Hill, McCarthy said she couldn't stop crying after learning that her former colleague, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, had been seriously wounded in a January 2011 shooting in Arizona. 'It's like a cancer in our society,' she said of gun violence. 'And if we keep doing nothing to stop it, it's only going to spread.' During one particularly rancorous debate over gun show loopholes in 1999, McCarthy was brought to tears at 1 a.m. on the House floor. 'I am Irish and I am not supposed to cry in front of anyone. But I made a promise a long time ago. I made a promise to my son and to my husband. If there was anything that I could do to prevent one family from going through what I have gone through then I have done my job,' she said. 'Let me go home. Let me go home,' she pleaded. McCarthy was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island. She became a nurse and later married Dennis McCarthy after meeting on a Long Island beach. They had one son, Kevin, during a tumultuous marriage in which they divorced but reconciled and remarried. McCarthy was a Republican when, on Dec. 7, 1993, a gunman opened fire on a train car leaving New York City. By the time passengers tackled the shooter, six people were dead and 19 wounded. She jumped into politics after her GOP congressman voted to repeal an assault weapons ban. Her surprise victory inspired a made-for-television movie produced by Barbra Streisand. Since that first victory in 1996, McCarthy was never seriously challenged for reelection in a heavily Republican district just east of New York City.. Some critics described McCarthy as a one-issue lawmaker, a contention she bristled about, pointing to interests in improving health care and education. But she was realistic about her legacy on gun control, once telling an interviewer: 'I've come to peace with the fact that will be in my obituary.'
Associated Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Gun control crusader and former US Rep. Carolyn McCarthy dead at 81
Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who successfully ran for Congress in 1996 as a crusader for gun control after a mass shooting on a New York commuter train left her husband dead and her son severely wounded, has died. She was 81. News of her death was shared Thursday by several elected officials on her native Long Island and by Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Committee. Details about her death were not immediately available. McCarthy went from political novice to one of the nation's leading advocates for gun control legislation in the aftermath of the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre. However, the suburban New York Democrat found limited success against the National Rifle Association and other Second Amendment advocates. McCarthy announced in June 2013 that she was undergoing treatment for lung cancer. She announced her retirement in January 2014. Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi said the nation has 'lost a fierce champion.' 'Carolyn channeled her grief and loss into advocacy for change, becoming one of the most dedicated gun violence prevention advocates,' Suozzi said on X. She became a go-to guest on national TV news shows after each ensuing gun massacre, whether it was at Columbine High School or Sandy Hook Elementary School. Known as the 'gun lady' on Capitol Hill, McCarthy said she couldn't stop crying after learning that her former colleague, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, had been seriously wounded in a January 2011 shooting in Arizona. 'It's like a cancer in our society,' she said of gun violence. 'And if we keep doing nothing to stop it, it's only going to spread.' During one particularly rancorous debate over gun show loopholes in 1999, McCarthy was brought to tears at 1 a.m. on the House floor. 'I am Irish and I am not supposed to cry in front of anyone. But I made a promise a long time ago. I made a promise to my son and to my husband. If there was anything that I could do to prevent one family from going through what I have gone through then I have done my job,' she said. 'Let me go home. Let me go home,' she pleaded. McCarthy was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island. She became a nurse and later married Dennis McCarthy after meeting on a Long Island beach. They had one son, Kevin, during a tumultuous marriage in which they divorced but reconciled and remarried. McCarthy was a Republican when, on Dec. 7, 1993, a gunman opened fire on a train car leaving New York City. By the time passengers tackled the shooter, six people were dead and 19 wounded. She jumped into politics after her GOP congressman voted to repeal an assault weapons ban. Her surprise victory inspired a made-for-television movie produced by Barbra Streisand. Since that first victory in 1996, McCarthy was never seriously challenged for reelection in a heavily Republican district just east of New York City.. Some critics described McCarthy as a one-issue lawmaker, a contention she bristled about, pointing to interests in improving health care and education. But she was realistic about her legacy on gun control, once telling an interviewer: 'I've come to peace with the fact that will be in my obituary.'
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Carolyn McCarthy, NY's ‘Gun Lady' in Congress, Dies at 81
Carolyn McCarthy, the New York congresswoman motivated to enter politics by the shooting of her husband and son, only to find gun control a difficult sell in Washington, has died. She was 81. Her death was reported on Thursday by Newsday. She had announced her retirement from Congress in 2014, months after disclosing that she had lung cancer and was receiving chemotherapy treatments. In a post on X, Representative Tom Suozzi, a New York Democrat, called her 'one of our nation's great champions in the fight against gun violence.'
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Fox News ‘Antisemitism Exposed' Newsletter: Will New York elect a mayor who hates Jews?
Fox News' "Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world. IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER: - New York Democrats say mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani 'too extreme to lead'- Sixteen states join Trump's battle against Harvard- Red state updating education standards to address rise in antisemitism in schools TOP STORY: At least two moderate House Democrats from New York are criticizing New York City's presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. After Mamdani won Tuesday's Democratic primary, Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y. decried his "deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments, which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing." Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., whose district also spans Long Island and a small part of Queens in New York City, said he has "serious concerns" about Mamdani, who is seen as a prohibitive favorite in the November general election. VIDEO: Israeli activist and journalist Emily Austin gives her take on the impact of the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities on 'Fox News @ Night.' WATCH HERE: BATTLE JOINED: President Donald Trump's legal defense in a major lawsuit from Harvard got a major boost from a slew of state prosecutors who formally joined his side on Monday. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led 15 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of Trump after the Massachusetts institution sued the administration to prevent billions in federal funding from being stripped from its coffers over its lax response to antisemitism on campus. CRUSHING HATE: In light of the surge in conflicts in the Middle East and rising tension within the U.S., one state's Department of Education has sent a memo to all public schools within the state guiding them to "safeguard students from woke, radicalized, terrorist-sympathizing rhetoric pushed by leftist educators." Click here to find out which state took this bold step. GRIM RECOVERY: Israel recovered the bodies of three more hostages held by Hamas following the terror group's attack on Israel in October 2023. The remains of the three hostages were recovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during a special operation on Saturday and have been identified as Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Shay Levinson, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters. BACK TO SCHOOL: Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil returned to Columbia University on Sunday to lead another protest march just days after his release from an immigration detention facility on a judge's orders. Social media footage showed him holding a Palestinian flag and leading a chant of "Columbia, Columbia, you can't hide. You're supporting genocide." GUEST EDITORIAL: Moshe Or, the brother of Hamas hostage Avinatan Or, makes an emotional plea to President Trump to secure the freedom of his sibling and 49 other hostages still believed to be held underground in Gaza. "President Trump, you've shown the world what decisive leadership looks like," writes Or. "Your response to Iran sent a clear message: America stands by its allies, stands for the safety of the entire world. Now, with a ceasefire in place, we must not waste this window of opportunity." QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Our hearts are with the Keidar, Samerano, and Levinson families today," the organization said. "Alongside the grief and pain, their return provides some comfort to the families who have waited in agony, uncertainty and doubt for 625 days." - statement from Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters upon the recovery of the bodies of Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Shay Levinson. - Looking for more on this topic? Find more antisemitism coverage from Fox News here. - Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe to additional newsletters from Fox News here. - Want live updates? Get the Fox News app here
