COLUMBIA, S.C. – The polls have closed in South Carolina, which along with New York, Maryland, and Utah are holding primary elections and runoffs on Tuesday.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President are not on the ballot in any of the contests, but their sway over the Democratic and Republican parties will be tested Tuesday.
Trump, seemingly aiming to hedge his bets, made an 11th hour endorsement ahead of the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial runoff and is now backing both candidates in the showdown to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.
Meanwhile, is testing the limits of political power as he takes on the party establishment one year after sending political shock waves across the country with his New York City Democratic primary victory en route to winning election as mayor of the nation’s most populous city.
The 34-year-old socialist mayor is backing a slate of candidates in the primary, including a trio of left-wing congressional contenders who are taking on the Democratic Party’s old guard.
At the top of this list is political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Mamdani-backed primary challenger taking on Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, ins 13th U.S. House District, which covers the northern third of Manhattan and a sliver of the Bronx. Chevalier, 32, says a victory on Tuesday could be the “domino” that falls and builds a “socialist power” nationwide.
The 71-year-old Espaillat, who has been in Congress for a decade, is supported by a slew of party leaders, including New York Gov. .
The mayor is also backing former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who ran against Mamdani last year in the crowded primary field but became one of his biggest backers. Lander is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Goldman’s supporters include former House Speaker .
And in New Yorks 7th, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens, Mamdani’endorsed state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who is battling Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who is backed by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Along with the mayor, Valdez and Avila Chevalier are also members of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Valdez has said voters are looking for Democratic candidates with moral clarity on Israel, and the three congressional primary races have focused in part on anti-Israel sentiment, with Mamdani recently referring to AIPAC, a top pro-Israel lobbying group, as “monsters.”
“This is the team. This is our year. Its up to all of us to get them over the finish line,” Mamdani emphasized in a social media post ahead of a rally last week with the three candidates and Sen. of Vermont, the longtime progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up.
And at the rally, Mamdani emphasized that the Democratic Party “must change.”
It’s a risky bet for the mayor, which could end with Mamdani being crowned a kingmaker, or weakening his political powers.
The socialist has been a darling of the far left for a year and a half. But six months into his tenure as New York City mayor, he can also count former critics within the Democratic Party, including Hochul, as allies. And he’s even earned praise from Trump.
Trump last year repeatedly claimed Mamdani was a “communist lunatic,” but during an Oval Office meeting in November that grabbed plenty of national attention, the president lauded Mamdani as a “very rational person” who would do a “really good job.”
Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital, “It’s crystal clear that Mamdani understands power and how to leverage it.”
“He remains incredibly popular, and it appears he also understands that may not always be the case. That’s why I think you see him flexing his political muscle now. It’s smart politics,” added Caia
