Mayor Mamdani Flexes His Power in the Midterms

About this episode

<p>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.</p> <p>Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics for The New York Times, explains whether their victories will help Democrats in the midterms.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/nicholas-fandos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Nicholas Fandos</strong></a>, a reporter covering New York politics and government for The New York Times.</p> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li>Mr. Mamdani shook the Democratic establishment <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/nyregion/mamdani-politics-influence.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">by helping drive three progressive candidates to victory</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/nyregion/democrats-unions-primaries-nyc.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here’s why</a> New York’s Democratic establishment fell to Team Mamdani.</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Lexi Parra/The New York Times</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>