Republicans gloat – After New York’s primary elections, Republicans celebrated victories by left-wing insurgents backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani—rejecting attempts to distance Democrats from the movement. The GOP also leaned on rhetoric from President Donald Trump, while some cent
For Republicans, the celebration started with a bouquet.
After primary election night in New York, a GOP prankster left flowers at the door of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who was widely seen as one of the night’s biggest losers.
Mike Marinella, the spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, framed it as sympathy for a rough round of defeats. “Three losses in one night is tough,” Marinella said in a statement. “We wanted so-called ‘Leader’ Jeffries to know our thoughts are with him. his candidates. and whatever remains of his influence in the Democrat Party.”.
The GOP was pointing to three House candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani—two of them card-carrying members of the Democratic Socialists of America—who notched victories against more established opponents.
In New York’s 7th Congressional District. state Assembly Member Claire Valdez defeated Antonio Reynoso. a progressive backed by outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez. In NY-10, former City Comptroller Brad Lander swept away Rep. Dan Goldman. And in what was described as the closest and perhaps most surprising result. former Columbia University pro-Palestine student organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier narrowly edged out Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a powerful Manhattan Democratic figure and chair of the Democratic Party’s Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
By Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning, Republicans were not just smiling at what happened. They were also leaning into what they believe it means.
They saw an electoral headache ahead for Democrats—driven, in their view, by the insurgent strain of left-wing populism that Republicans say is ascendant inside the party.
President Donald Trump added to the mood on Wednesday, writing on social media that “Weak and pathetic Congressman Dan Goldman just lost, BIG!” He said “I guess people didn’t like him illegally targeting President TRUMP,” and called Goldman “this jerk” who was “finally GONE!”
Not all Republicans sounded the same tone, but the message about the left was consistent. Christopher Rufo. the messaging figure who helped build a conservative rebuttal to 2020-era “wokeness. ” took to X to warn about what he described as socialism moving “from ‘woke’ to Third-Worldism.” “Third-Worldism is a more serious threat to life. liberty. and property. ” Rufo wrote.
Trump, too, went further on rhetoric, calling the candidates “communists” and making a vow: “America the Beautiful will NEVER be a Communist Country!!!” he wrote Wednesday.
Republicans argued that the results reflect Mamdani’s staying power—“six months into his term in office. ” as commentators and observers described it. with his influence portrayed as strong enough to function as a kind of kingmaking. But they also predicted his profile could be felt well beyond New York.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult for your mainstream Democrat in a toss-up district to separate themselves from Mamdani and those kinds of socialist insurgents who are running in these primaries. ” one GOP operative in the House said. The operative argued that Republicans see the insurgents as “unelectable in a swing district where you’re trying to win voters in the middle.”.
Corbin Trent, a former aide to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said that GOP approach could backfire.
“They’re divisive with people that are going to D.C. dinners. they’re divisive to people at fundraisers. they’re divisive to people in Beltway. and they’re certainly divisive among the big donor class. ” Trent told The Intercept on Wednesday. “But I think what [Republicans are] going to be surprised by is how they’re not divisive among the electorate. among the 80 percent of Americans that have been struggling to understand how it is they live in the richest nation in history — and yet they can barely scrape by.”.
Trent connected the New York wins to a broader strain of class-based politics around affordability championed by the Democratic Socialists of America slate. He also pointed to other insurgent primary wins like Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner. whose success led an establishment-backed opponent to stop campaigning “weeks before the primary.”.
On the other side of the argument, centrist Democrats responded with unease—not only at the GOP tone, but at what the left victories could mean for their broader project.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., denounced what he described as a pro-Palestine bend among the DSA winners in New York on Fox News Tuesday night.
Jeffries, meanwhile, projected a different focus. In remarks to Spectrum News NY1, he said he was more focused on swing states than on his own backyard.
“We’re not in the business of winning Democratic primaries and state seats that are going to be blue regardless of who wins a primary,” Jeffries said. “In order for us to be able to take back control of the House of Representatives, we got to flip seats in tough areas.”
On Wednesday, when The Intercept sought comment from Jeffries, a reporter found him busy in the U.S. Capitol, standing shoulder to shoulder with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during an unveiling of a giant congressional time capsule for the country’s 250th birthday.
The week’s political fight is now set against two different clocks: the urgency of winning swing seats, and the insistence from the right that the left’s momentum can’t be separated from Democrats’ future in competitive districts.
New York primaries Hakeem Jeffries Zohran Mamdani Democratic Socialists of America Dan Goldman Brad Lander Adriano Espaillat Darializa Avila Chevalier Claire Valdez Antonio Reynoso Republicans Donald Trump Mike Johnson John Fetterman
Wait so Republicans literally left flowers like a prank at Jeffries’ door?? That’s petty lol.
I don’t get it, the article is saying it’s sympathy but also gloating? Sounds like both sides are just doing the most. Also these names are wild, Zohran Mamdani??
Honestly flowers or not, if those left-wing people won then it means Jeffries lost for sure. Like the party elite always act surprised when voters go elsewhere. Not sure why they’d think “insurgents” is a bad word though, sounds like normal democracy to me.
This is probably all because Trump said something and then everyone ran with it, like always. Also “card-carrying members” of the DSA—so that’s basically like they’re not even real Democrats? Idk. The closest one with that Columbia organizer, I swear I read somewhere she’s actually Republican? maybe not, but it feels like that kind of story.