WASHINGTON (TNND) — Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., urged New Yorkers to support the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, in the upcoming New York City mayoral race, suggesting his views are a clear vision for the future of the party.
“I believe we, the Democratic party – we’ve drifted,” he said Saturday at a speech in Iowa. “Too often we have come under the sway of powerful moneyed interests at the expense of working people. We’ve become a party that too often trims its sails. Too cautious, too rudderless, too attached to poll-washed and pundit-rinsed and donor-dried messages. What comes out of the wash is all bleached and blow-dried.”
Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, has campaigned on a platform that includes affordable housing, city-owned grocery stores, no-cost childcare, and a new Department of Community Safety.
“There will be visible trained teams in our subways,” he said in a video. “Their presence and their work will make all of us safe. Police have a critical role to play, but right now we’re relying on them to deal with the failures of our social safety net,” Mamdani said.
Governor Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., recently endorsed Mamdani in an Opinion piece in The New York Times.
“In the past few months, I’ve had frank conversations with him. We’ve had our disagreements. But in our conversations, I heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family. I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable — a goal I enthusiastically support,” she wrote.
Her endorsement prompted a response from President Donald Trump.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the endorsement as a “rather shocking development” and suggested the possibility of withholding federal funds if Mamdani wins.
In an interview on Friday on Fox and Friends, he said, “I call him my liddle communist. He’s my liddle communist mayor but he has to come to Washington for money a lot of money.”
A New York Times/Siena poll from earlier this month shows Mamdani with 46% support.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, has 24%.
Republican Curtis Sliwa has 15%, and current Mayor Eric Adams holds 9%.
Despite Mamdani’s lead, many New York Democrats, including House and Senate Minority Leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, have yet to endorse him.
Some Democrats express concern that Mamdani’s progressive stance is not representative of national party politics.
In an interview with CNN, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., commented, “My party is acting in a way they have forgotten. They have forgotten one of the reasons why we lost in 2024. Some people think now we have to double down on those things or we must become more progressive or more extreme. That’s absolutely not true.”
Since the 2024 election, Democrats have faced challenges in maintaining voter registration and popularity.
A Wall Street Journal poll in July found that only 33% of voters hold a favorable view of Democrats.