(WASHINGTON) — Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition summit in Washington, D.C., an annual evangelical gathering in the nation’s capital, Republican leaders showcased an emerging line of attack against Democrats to energize voters and defend their congressional majorities: the ascent of New York state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist on track to become the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City.
Mamdani upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday with a campaign that zeroed in on affordability: He pledged to raise taxes to He pledged to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, help fund city-owned grocery stores, eliminate bus fares and expand public housing initiatives.
His win vaulted him into the national conversation overnight — Republicans across Washington using it as a new opportunity to depict Democrats as “radical socialists” and out of step with the country.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans’ campaign arm, has also been quick to link the national Democratic Party to Mamdani.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who represents a swing district outside New York City and served with Mamdani in the state legislature in Albany, posted on X that Democrats in New York “will pay the price for this insanity at the ballot box.”
“Look at what we just had happen in New York,” Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said Friday, adding, “This is where the Democrats are going. They are open borders, inflationary spending, weak America.”
While some progressive Democrats have embraced Mamdani, some of the party’s leaders have stopped short of endorsing him. Some moderate Democrats representing New York’s suburbs have criticized him and declined to back his campaign.
A critic of Israel’s government, Mamdani has faced allegations of antisemitism over past comments and proposals. In response, he has emphasized policies to combat antisemitism, said that he wants to focus on city issues and has said he supports Israel’s right to exist as a state with equal rights for all.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, in a speech at the same conference as Whatley, also criticized Mamdani while seeking to tie him to Democrats.
“Listen, the progressive left will not stop. They will not stop trying to lead us down a path to socialism, and therefore we can never stop … Look what happened in New York. They nominated a mayoral candidate who would make Bernie Sanders blush,” Youngkin said.
“But it’s not just New York. This is the challenge that we continually face and why we have to continually remind ourselves that elections have consequences,” he said.
Ralph Reed, a Republican operative and chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, told reporters Friday that Mamdani’s victory, and a general election win in November, would put him at the center of the Democratic Party as the leader of the country’s largest city.
“The mayor of New York City is one of the most prominent political figures, not only in the United States, but in the world,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re Rudy Giuliani or Ed Koch or, you know, [Michael] Bloomberg, or you know, whoever it is. It’s a big deal. I mean, whether the Democrats would want it or not if he won the primary, he’s helping to define that party.”
ABC News has reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment on the comments made at the conference.
When he was asked by ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott on Wednesday about Republicans seizing on his self-identification as a Democratic socialist to paint all Democrats similarly, Mamdani responded, “You know, I see that so many New Yorkers, especially the ones we saw [on primary] night, are not actually concerned — they’re excited, by a recognition of the inequality they’re facing in their own lives.”
Some Republicans have launched what some are calling Islamophobic attacks against Mamdani. Born in Uganda, Mamdani, who is a Muslim of Indian descent lived in the United States since he was 7 years old and became a naturalized citizen in 2018.
House Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee wrote on Thursday that he was requesting the Department of Justice open an investigation into Mamdani’s citizenship, specifically his naturalization application.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-Ga.), in response to Mamdani’s victory, posted a digitally-altered image of the Statue of Liberty covered in a burqa.
Several Muslim Democratic members of Congress have strongly pushed back against Ogles’ letter, calling on Democratic leaders to denounce the attacks.
U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), André Carson (D-Ind.), and Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.) wrote in a joint statement on Friday, “These hateful, Islamophobic, and racist tropes have become so entrenched and normalized in our politics… They directly contribute to the ongoing dehumanization and violence against Muslim Americans.”
At a press conference on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has stopped short of endorsing Mamdani but plans to meet with him, called Ogles’s effort “disgusting.”
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who has strongly criticized Mamdani over his views and endorsed Cuomo in the mayoral primary, wrote on X on Thursday, “It is no secret that I have profound disagreements with Zohran Mamdani. But every Democrat — and every decent person — should speak out with moral clarity against the despicable Islamophobic attacks that have been directed at him.”
Other House Democrats also came to Mamdani’s defense over the comments.
Reed, who said he was not familiar with Ogles or Greene’s posts, suggested other Republicans should focus on criticizing Mamdani’s policies and legislative record.
“I haven’t even seen it, but I wouldn’t think that would be a dominant message,” he told reporters. “There’s so much material on this guy.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who won her seat last November while Trump carried the state of Michigan on the presidential level, downplayed the disagreements inside the party, and argued that Mamdani’s victory in New York underscored voters’ focus on the economy across the country.
“People, just like in November, are still really focused on costs and the economy, and their own kitchen table math, and they’re looking for a new generation of leadership,” Slotkin said on Thursday. “It reinforces that you may disagree on some key issues, but understanding that people are concerned about their family budget, that is a unifying thing for a coalition.”
ABC’s Tiffany Li contributed to this report.
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