Dr. David Andersen, Associate Professor of United States Politics at Durham University, spoke to CGTN Europe about the symbolism and political implications of New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
00:00Well, let's talk to David Anderson, Associate Professor of U.S. Politics at Durham University.
00:05David, good to see you. Welcome. Just how significant is this moment, both symbolically and politically?
00:13Well, it's important in both ways. Symbolically, Mayor Mondami is going to be very young.
00:19He looks different from any mayor the city has had in a generation now.
00:23But one of the primary differences is that he is not from the billionaire or multimillionaire class that has long dominated New York City politics.
00:32And he's talking about politics in a very different way, as if it's from the grassroots up.
00:36And that has the possibility of changing how New York City politics runs.
00:41And if it works there, that could be exported around the country.
00:44Well, it definitely reveals that that that wing is strong and it is growing.
01:03But I think his election poses some problems for the Democrats because he himself really put this campaign together in a very unique way.
01:12And in a city like New York, where 70 percent of the voters tend to be Democrats, there was room and there was a welcoming of a very progressive agenda.
01:24The question is whether that's going to hold nationwide or even on the bigger venue as states.
01:29There were two very important statewide elections that happened yesterday.
01:32And the candidates who won there were not very progressive.
01:35And they did very well.
01:37And it's going to cause a lot of questions within the Democratic Party on whether they should moderate and go to the center,
01:43because that's where a lot of the state level voters are, or whether they go to the progressive side and rack up some big wins in places like New York City.
01:52So Democrats winning these key races in New Jersey and Virginia.
01:56Do you think that these results amount to a genuine blue wave or are they simply more localized wins?
02:06No, I think this is definitely evidence that there is a blue wave out there forming.
02:10And that should not be very surprising.
02:12Traditionally in American politics, in the middle of a president's term, there's a midterm election and the president's party almost always loses seats.
02:20And this is just evidence that what is typical is happening.
02:25The only question we really have is how sizable will this wave be?
02:30The state, I think, really that indicates what's happening is New Jersey.
02:36In 2024, President Trump only lost the state of New Jersey by about three points.
02:41He made it very competitive.
02:43Last night, the New Jersey Democrat won by 13, which means it's probably not competitive at this moment.
02:49And if New Jersey's not competitive, the Republican Party has an entire nation to look at and wonder how they're going to fare.
02:56Off-year elections, it's suggested, are often a bellwether.
03:01What might these results suggest for next year's U.S. midterms and potentially even for control of Congress?
03:10Well, I think the signal right now is that the Democratic Party is poised to do much better in the midterm elections than they did in the previous presidential election.
03:20In Trump's first term, Democrats were able to sweep back into power and take control of the House.
03:26And I think they're on pace to do that again this year.
03:29If they can win sizable victories in Virginia and New Jersey, it means they're on pace to do the same across the nation.
03:38David, good to see you.
03:39Thanks so much for your time.
03:40David Anderson, Associate Professor of U.S. Politics at Durham University.
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