Can Zohran Mamdani stop the Cuomo machine?

You don’t mess with the Zohran

Here in the capital, the President has been doing his utmost to wrangle Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran into a ceasefire neither government seems to want. It’s… not going great. As he departed for the NATO summit at the Hague, Trump said of the conflict: “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.” Meanwhile on the Hill, senators are poring over the Big, Beautiful Bill to see if they can whip up a version of it they’re willing to pass by July 4.

But Cockburn finds himself looking north to the Big Apple – and wondering whether the mayoral primary could offer signs of life for the Democratic party.

In New York City today, voters will use a ranked-choice system to decide the Democratic candidate for November’s election. Leading the polls: disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo, best known for being ousted from office after smooching several staffers (his defense: “I’m Italian”). He also got a reputation for dinging grandmothers into the sky like 1988 Jose Canseco, thanks to his negligent nursing-home policy during the Covid pandemic. The New York nepo baby is largely trading on name recognition and garnering big-time old-man Democratic endorsements – Bill Clinton and Jim Clyburn – hoping to land himself in Gracie Mansion.

Up against him: a 33-year-old assemblyman, also with a troubling past (he was a YouTube rapper), Zohran Mamdani. The Democratic socialist has managed to make things interesting though, running a sleek social media campaign, building big grassroots support and earning the backing of progressive leading lights, including AOC, Bernie Sanders, Emily Ratajkowski and Stavros Halkias. He has courted controversy through his policy focus on housing – he wants to freeze rent in stabilized homes – his plan to fund his initiatives through taxing the 1 percent (cue a second exodus to Florida), as well as his stance on Israel, saying he believes it has the “right to exist as a state with equal rights,” rather than as a Jewish state.

A New York Times article over the weekend crystallized the divide, sharing the choices of several notable New Yorkers. None of the people they spoke to are ranking Cuomo and Mamdani on the same ballot. Cuomo is supported by 88-year-old superlawyer Floyd Abrams, 75-year-old magazine magnate Graydon Carter and 82-year-old real-estate titan Jeff Gural. Mamdani, meanwhile, is backed by 31-year-old actress AnnaSophia Robb, 32-year-old SNL performer Sarah Sherman and Miranda from Sex and the City (who ran against Cuomo for governor in 2018).

The outcome of the race could offer clues to the future of the Democratic party, which has been listless, lackluster and a hotbed of intraparty squabbling since Kamala Harris’s blowout loss seven months ago. If Zohran triumphs, the wind will be in the sails of the progressive wing, arguing that the party needs new ideas, AOC-Bernie-style rallies and a dynamic activist base to stand a chance in the midterms. Yet how, exactly, those left-wing ideas will play with moderate voters who went for Trump in 2024 is unclear. They could lose the normies faster than you can say “Mondale ’84.”

Cockburn’s New York insiders assure him that we won’t know a result until the end of the week. And even defeat might not spell the end of the road for Cuomo or Mamdani: each might consider a run as an Independent, like the incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, leading to a four-way race against him and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Start spreading the news…

On our radar

CASH OUT Billionaires Barry Diller and Michael Bloomberg will cease donations to the DNC due to consensus that the committee is “ineffectual.” Bloomberg has however donated to the New York mayoral campaign of disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo.

FLY AWAY The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration is allowed to deport foreigners to third-party countries with which the immigrants have no ties.

IT WAS A GOOD DAY Spotted at Butterworth’s Monday: iconic rapper and actor Ice Cube, who stopped in for a lunch of red snapper, Caesar salad, olives and fries.

Are you a Bretting man?

A spy at last night’s College Fix gala at the National Press Club passed onto Cockburn an amusing anecdote told by the keynote speaker, Fox News’s Bret Baier.

Baier recalled a game of golf he played with Donald Trump several years ago. Baier and his partner were up by five after five holes for a $10 bet. They asked Trump if he wanted to renegotiate terms of the bet. Trump said, with a smile, “no I’m good.” Sure enough Trump and his partner came back to win.

Years later, Baier was interviewing Trump ahead of the 2016 election. At the interview’s conclusion, Baier asked Trump how the heck he thought he was going to win when he was down big in every swing state. Trump replies by bringing up the golf match, saying, “Bret, remember that cart ride back to the clubhouse?”

Take a hike

Park rangers are set to rake the forests for loose change this year, as the National Park Service stares down a potential $1 billion funding cut. Secretary Doug Burgum of the Department of the Interior has suggested defraying costs by up-charging international visitors. Cockburn wonders if an exception might be made for Trump Gold Card holders.

Those looking for free access may need to resort to upping their sugar intake: the national parks hand out a free lifetime pass to any permanent resident with diabetes (or any other disability, liberally defined to include ADHD). The NPS may have to tighten its belt, but you can loosen yours.

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