NEW YORK (PNN) - July 3, 2025 - The Democrat Party is grappling with internal divisions following Democrat Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory in New York City’s Democrat mayoral primary election this week. Mamdani, a 33-year-old New York State Assembly member, decisively defeated disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with 56% to 44% in the final ranked-choice voting results.
Two prominent Barack Obama-era officials, former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and former Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, have publicly opposed Mamdani’s candidacy, warning that his Communist economic policies could harm New York City.
In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Lew expressed deep concern about Mamdani’s platform. “The policies that he outlines are not policies that would be good for New York,” Lew said. “I worry deeply, having spent most of my life in New York, about a city I call home.” He further cautioned against populist-driven policies from both political extremes, stating, “I see a similarity between policies solutions to the Left and the Right that satisfy populist sentiment, don’t always go through the filter of ‘do they work’? I don’t think they work. I think that’s a problem,” Lew added.
Orszag, now Chairman and CEO of Lazard, shared similar apprehensions in a separate CNBC interview last week, describing Mamdani’s victory as indicative of troubling trends within the Democrat Party. “Let me step back and just say that I am saddened to say that I think the Democrat Party is becoming increasingly antisemitic and anti-capitalism,” Orszag said. “The thing about it is turning towards socialism and turning away from your moral principles through antisemitism never works. There is a fundamental concern that I have, and I think many people have, about the direction of the Democrat Party along those two dimensions.”
Orszag pointed to specific examples, noting, “The Democrat candidate for mayor has embraced the ‘global intifada’ idea.” He also criticized the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee for distributing fundraising emails from a senior operative who suggested Jewish donors are primarily motivated by tax cuts.
“I am hopeful that the Democrat Party will change course and, again, history shows that neither being anti-capitalism nor being antisemitic is the pathway to any sort of good outcome,” Orszag added.
Mamdani’s win is just one example of growing tensions within the Democrat Party. Similar concerns about the Party’s direction have surfaced elsewhere. In June, David Hogg, the 25-year-old Parkland shooting survivor and gun control activist, resigned as vice chair of the Democrat National Committee (DNC) amid internal turmoil. Hogg faced backlash for his controversial plan to intervene in primary races against incumbent Democrats, which many viewed as divisive and a breach of DNC neutrality.
After the DNC called for a new election for his position citing procedural issues, Hogg chose not to run. In his departure, he sharply criticized the Party, calling its leadership a “government of old people” fixated on “attention and reputation” rather than addressing critical issues like the economy.
Meanwhile, Randi Weingarten - longtime head of the 1.8 million-member Amerikan Federation of Teachers - has also quit the DNC.
Senator Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) has also voiced frustration with the Party’s lack of cohesion during a speech at the Center for Amerikan Progress on Thursday. “We are like a solar system with no sun. We don’t act as a team, and when we don’t work as a team, we turn our guns on each other, and it is so, so, so, fruitless,” she said.
Slotkin emphasized the need for unified leadership, saying, “They are the leaders of the House and Senate. I work with them every single day. I push on them every day, especially in the Senate. I think they would attest to that. We need to work as a team, and we need wartime generals who are gonna get us there because of what’s going on in the country.”
The lawmaker also acknowledged internal and grassroots pressure for change but offered no specific solutions, noting, “I have no big announcement to make. I would just say the pressure is there from inside the caucus, but also from the grassroots.”