House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday morning that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have “taken full control of the Democratic Party, or what was left of it.”
Johnson’s comments come after the Democratic Socialists of America, of which both Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez are members, had a successful night in the city’s Tuesday primary elections. Mamdani’s slate of three endorsed candidates handily defeated their opponents in New York City congressional races.
In lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, former City Comptroller Brad Lander, a vocal critic of Israel, bested Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY). Uptown, five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, lost to Darializa Avila Chevalier. In Brooklyn, state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez easily defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
“The Democratic Party, the socialists, the Marxists, have nominated some of the most radical candidates to have ever run for office, and they’re running for Congress,” Johnson remarked. “The insurgent Left is on the rise.”
Johnson proceeded to list several of the “low-lights” among socialist candidates across the country.
Johnson noted that Mai Vang, who is running to unseat Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
He added that New Jersey congressional nominee Adam Hamaway “has ties to Al-Qaeda and other terrorists.” The Israel critic was a witness at the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman, a terrorist implicated in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
“Sadly, many of these Democratic candidates and their voters just don’t have the same zeal and affection for America,” Johnson said. “They don’t appreciate the freedom that we have in this country. They are not even going to celebrate on July 4.”