THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says electing Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed to the U.S. Senate is of “critical importance” to his city.
- Mamdani attended an El-Sayed fundraiser earlier this month and says their campaigns are part of a national political movement.
- His latest endorsement comes as El-Sayed faces criticism for telling ABC News that Israel is “not actually our friend.”
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has an election on his mind.
Not in Queens. Not in Brooklyn. Not even somewhere across the Hudson River.
Michigan.
During a Tuesday press conference, Mamdani made it clear that electing Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed isn’t merely something he’d like to see happen. He considers it practically essential to the future of New York City.
“His victory and the victory of Democrats across this country is of critical importance to our city,” Mamdani declared.
That’s quite an assignment for Michigan voters. Apparently, in addition to selecting their own senator, they’re now being asked to consider the political future of a mayor roughly 600 miles away.
Mamdani’s remarks came after a reporter asked about his appearance at an El-Sayed fundraiser earlier this month and whether the Michigan race was important to his own political project.
The mayor didn’t hesitate to connect the two.
“Our movement here in New York City is a movement that is part of something national, which is a fight for working people,” Mamdani explained.
He then borrowed El-Sayed’s campaign slogan: “Money out of politics! Money in your pocket! Medicare for All!”
Those priorities, Mamdani argued, appeal to voters in both Michigan and New York.
The mayor said an El-Sayed victory would indicate a national willingness to “chart a new course in Washington that has working people at the heart of it.”
Then he added a little campaign wisdom: “Hope doesn’t win elections, the action that it motivates does.”
So Mamdani isn’t simply cheering from the sidelines. He sees El-Sayed’s candidacy as part of a broader effort to move the Democratic Party toward the progressive economic agenda both politicians champion.
And that makes the timing especially interesting.
El-Sayed, who is running against Trump-backed Republican Mike Rogers, stirred up a fresh controversy this week when ABC News anchor Linsey Davis pressed him about America’s relationship with Israel.
El-Sayed offered an analogy involving a child who continually takes another child’s money and draws him into fights.
He concluded, “I think it’s time for us to realize that Israel is not actually our friend.”
That is a striking declaration from a Democratic Senate nominee seeking to represent Michigan, a state with significant Jewish and Arab-American communities and strong disagreements over American policy toward Israel.
El-Sayed has defended his position as a criticism of Israeli government policy and the terms of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Critics, including some Democrats, have challenged his characterization of a longstanding American ally.
Now Mamdani has gone a step further in publicly associating his own political project with El-Sayed’s national ambitions.
The two politicians share positions on universal health care, affordability and reducing the influence of wealthy donors. Their alliance also illustrates the growing effort by progressive Democrats to shape the party’s direction beyond individual city or state elections.
For Mamdani, that means New York City’s political future doesn’t necessarily end at the city limits.
For El-Sayed, support from a nationally recognized progressive mayor brings additional attention to an already intensely contested Senate race.
And for Michigan voters, the mayor’s declaration adds another consideration to an election that already has plenty riding on it.
They are choosing a senator to represent Michigan in Washington. Mamdani is explaining why he believes that choice matters to New Yorkers as well.
Just don’t expect Michigan to start sending City Hall a monthly progress report.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- Mediaite — Mamdani says electing El-Sayed is critically important to New York City
- New York City Mayor’s Office — Official October 20 press-conference transcript
- The Hill — Mamdani describes national significance of El-Sayed’s campaign
- La Voce di New York — Mamdani’s endorsement and Michigan Senate race
- Associated Press — Michigan Senate race and divisions over Israel
