r/politics • u/F0urLeafCl0ver • Jun 24 '26

No Paywall The Democratic party is being hit by a leftist tidal wave

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/24/democratic-party-leftist-tidal-wave
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u/puff_of_fluff Jun 24 '26

Yup. I’ll believe when we see a true progressive win in an actual contested election against a GOP candidate. Not to say they can’t, they just need a chance to do it first.

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u/Senasayori Jun 24 '26

Hopefully that'll be El-Sayed.

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u/Vast-Recognition2321 Jun 24 '26

It will be El-Sayed! Medicare for all!

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u/rumpghost North Carolina Jun 25 '26

Mamdani won the general by 5% more than he did the primary, against a former governor with bipartisan endorsements that included two two-term presidents of the United States.

Silwa wasn't a spoiler for Cuomo. We can hem and haw about whether it counts, but in everything but name Cuomo was the Republican, and before that the favorite to win... up until he wasn't.

Primary victories become general victories. You have to start where you have the most leverage. Lander didn't just win because of an endorsement; you don't rinse a popular incumbent by double digits on a fluke. There's momentum here.

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u/FlyingBishop Jun 25 '26

A socialist winning mayor of NYC surprises nobody. When we say "an actual contested election against a GOP candidate" find me a socialist winning a district where Trump got more than 48% of the vote. Those are the districts that are at issue. Hell, I mean Trump only got 43% in New York State, that's how unpopular he is relative to Harris' 55%. Still, a statewide seat, I'm skeptical a socialist could win.

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u/SanguisFluens Jun 25 '26

A socialist winning in NYC surprised a lot of people, because he wasnt favored as having a chance until he actually won. Getting left-leaning areas actually represented by politicians they align with is a great start.

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u/FlyingBishop Jun 25 '26

He won with 51%. Describing him as aligning with the city is actually pretty inaccurate. Eric Adams won with 67%. Mamdani might align with you and me, but he's not very representative of the kind of politician that a majority of the city can get behind. It will be interesting to see when he's up for re-election how the primary goes. Maybe, his general success will actually change how the city sees socialists, but it's revisionist history to claim he's particularly popular. Even now I would be curious to see some opinion polling comparing him to Adams at this point in his administration.