Mayor Mamdani Flexes His Power in the Midterms

On Tuesday, a blowout in the New York primaries cemented Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a local kingmaker. All of his chosen candidates won, and their victories pointed to a growing movement within the Democratic Party. Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics for The New York Times, explains whether their victories will help Democrats in the midterms. Guest: Nicholas Fandos (https://www.nytimes.com/by/nicholas-f...) , a reporter covering New York politics and government for The New York Times. Background reading:  • Mr. Mamdani shook the Democratic establishment by helping drive three progressive candidates to victory (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/ny...) . • Here’s why (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/ny...) New York’s Democratic establishment fell to Team Mamdani. Photo: Lexi Parra/The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-t...) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts (http://nytimes.com/podcasts) or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-acce.... For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.