: The House GOP’s campaign arm is wasting no time in linking New York City’s democratic socialist mayor-elect to congressional Democrats facing challenging re-elections in next year’s midterm elections.
Hours after Zohran Mamdani’s election victory in New York City’s mayoral election, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) on Wednesday launched a digital ad spotlighting him, which is running in nearly 50 competitive House districts.
‘A radical left earthquake just hit America. The epicenter: New York,’ says the narrator in the NRCC spot, which was shared first with Fox News Digital.
The narrator argues that ‘the new socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani built his movement on defunding the police and abolishing ICE. Now the socialists are celebrating. They call it progress. We call it chaos. Bureaucrats instead of doctors. Social workers instead of cops.’
‘This is the future House Democrats want, and your city could be next. Stop socialism. Stop Democrats,’ concludes the narrator, under pictures of Mamdani and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Jeffries, the top Democrat in the chamber, endorsed Mamdani last week, nearly four months after Mamdani sent political shockwaves across the nation with his convincing win over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic Party’s mayoral nomination.
Since Mamdani’s primary victory, Republicans have repeatedly aimed to make the now-34-year-old Ugandan-born state lawmaker from New York City the new face of the Democratic Party, as they work to characterize Democrats as far-left socialists.
Mamdani defeated Cuomo and two-time Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s election, making history as the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation’s most populous city.
He was heavily criticized by Republicans and some Democrats for his far-left proposals to eliminate fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, make CUNY (City University of New York) ‘tuition-free,’ freeze rents on municipal housing, offer ‘free childcare’ for children up to age 5 and set up government-run grocery stores.
Mamdani also took incoming political fire over his verbal attacks on Israel, his past critical comments about the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and his proposal to shift certain responsibilities away from the NYPD and focus on social services and community-based programs.
The digital spot, which is backed by a modest ad buy, will run in 29 Democrat-controlled House districts being targeted by the NRCC.
The lawmakers in the districts are Josh Harder (CA-09), Adam Gray (CA-13), George Whitesides (CA-27), Derek Tran (CA-45), Dave Min (CA-47), Darren Soto (FL-09), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Frank Mrvan (IN-01), Jared Golden (ME-02), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), Don Davis (NC-01), OPEN (NH-01), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), Dina Titus (NV-01), Susie Lee (NV-03), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Josh Riley (NY-19), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), OPEN (TX-09), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), OPEN (TX-35), Eugene Vindman (VA-07), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03).
The ads will also run digitally in 20 Republican-controlled House districts the NRCC expects to be in play in the midterms.
The lawmakers in those districts are Reps. Nick Begich (AK-AL), OPEN (AZ-01), Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06), David Valadao (CA-22), Young Kim (CA-40), Ken Calvert (CA-41), Gabe Evans (CO-08), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Zach Nunn (IA-03), Tom Barrett (MI-07), OPEN (MI-10), OPEN (NE-02), Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07), Mike Lawler (NY-07), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), Rob Bresnahan (PA-08), Scott Perry (PA-10), Scott Perry, (PA-10), Jen Kiggans (VA-02), and Derrick Van Orden (WI-03).
At full strength, the Republicans hold a 220-215 majority in the House. Democrats need to pick up just three seats to win back the majority.