00:00The democratic socialist movement that shook New York is now scoring major wins out west.
00:05In Colorado, 29-year-old political newcomer Melet Kuros ousted a 15-term Democratic incumbent in a
00:12stunning primary upset. Kuros is running on a pretty far-left platform, abolishing ICE,
00:18Medicare for All, and mass amnesty for illegal immigrants. She's also drawing criticism over
00:23controversial comments she made about the October 7th Hamas attacks, 9-11, and a firebombing on a
00:28Jewish rally. The New York Post's political reporter Ryan King has more on Kuros' upset victory.
00:33It's one of the most successful primary election cycles that the DSA has seen so far. They've won
00:43primary races in over three dozen contests across the country. Some of those are kind of more low-key
00:51contests, and then a few of them have been these House primary races, which is really significant.
01:00Kuros' win comes on the heels of three candidates that Mayor Zoran Omdani backed in New York primary
01:10races that saw two incumbent Democrats lose. And there was another that he backed that was running
01:17for an open seat. And this is something that has really kind of angered a lot of moderates
01:23here in Congress. And it's also unnerved some Republicans as well that are concerned that Democrats
01:30are having their own Tea Party movement, their own sort of MAGA movement to counter Republicans,
01:37and that it could take the Democratic Party much more to the left. And then among Democrats on the Hill,
01:43there are also concerns about leadership should Democrats retake the House next year.
01:50So some of these candidates, for example, Kuros has cast out on voting for Hakeem Jeffries to be
01:57Speaker of the House if Democrats retake the majority. Currently, Democrats are favored to retake
02:02the majority, but it's generally expected that it would be a slim majority, similar to what Republicans
02:08have right now. That's due to gerrymandering and other factors. So if you have just a handful of
02:14candidates that get elected and don't back Jeffries to be Speaker, Democrats could have a really intense
02:22leadership battle, similar to what we've seen with Republicans over recent years.
02:28When it comes to Iran at the moment, President Trump is sticking with diplomacy, but he's making it clear
02:33military action remains on the table. According to a new report, the president has discussed the
02:38possibility of resuming strikes against Iran with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs
02:43Chairman General Dan Cain. For now, the White House is giving negotiations a chance, with the U.S.
02:48and Iran continuing to work under the 60-day Memorandum of Understanding, though things there haven't
02:53exactly gone to plan so far. Vice President J.D. Vance says the talks are now about determining whether
02:59Iran is serious about peace. He told reporters, quote, we care a lot less about what the Iranians
03:05say. We care a lot more about what they do. But as those talks continue, the rhetoric coming out of
03:11Tehran is growing even more aggressive, suggesting they are not remotely interested in peace. Iran's
03:17assembly of experts has declared it a religious duty to assassinate President Trump and Israeli
03:22Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avenge the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Meanwhile,
03:28retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, a former Trump advisor, says the administration should be
03:32preparing the American people for the possibility that diplomacy fails. Kellogg argues Iran has a
03:38long history of using negotiations as a ploy to buy time, not to make concessions. He says if talks
03:43collapse, the U.S. should target Iran's economic lifeline, including Karg Island, which handles the
03:49vast majority of the country's oil exports. You may have thought you heard the last of former Vice
03:54President Kamala Harris, but nope. She's reaching out to one of the Democratic Party's fastest rising
03:59stars as she looks ahead to a possible 2028 presidential run. According to a new report,
04:04Harris held an extended private phone call with New York City Mayor Zoram Mamdani with the two
04:09discussing the future of the Democratic Party. Now, that conversation is expected to be the first of
04:13many as Harris works to rebuild her relationships with the party's progressive wing. The outreach came
04:19just days after candidates backed by Mamdani scored a series of primary victories in New York,
04:25further solidifying his growing influence with Dems. One political strategist the Post spoke to
04:30said, quote, the 2024 loss made it clear that the activist left, if not energized, has enough leverage
04:36to sink a Democratic nominee, and she would rather have those people knocking doors than burning down
04:41her campaign before it starts. Harris currently leads early polling for the party's 2028 presidential
04:46nomination, though she's not announced whether or not she's actually going to run. And yeah,
04:51you heard that right. We're not even done with 2026, and we are already polling for the presidency.
04:57Politics never sleeps, my friends. For more on these stories and everything else you could
05:02possibly want to know, check out the New York Post in print or online. And don't forget,
05:06like and subscribe to the New York Postcast wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube.
05:10I promise you'll be glad you did.
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