NEW YORK − On the heels of a resounding rejection in the Nov. 4 elections, Republicans have found a silver lining: a new Democratic bogeyman in New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
The 34-year-old democratic socialist is being invoked by national Republican leaders, even on seemingly unrelated subjects, such as the just-ended federal government shutdown.
In a press conference after the House of Representatives voted to reopen the government on Nov. 12, House Speaker Mike Johnson blamed the shutdown on Democratic dysfunction, which he tied to Mamdani.
"There's a reason the Democrats are in disarray right now... They don't have a leader, except for Mamdani, who's the new mayor of New York City and leading the party into Marxism and socialism," Johnson said.
It is unusual for a state assemblyman to be labeled the leader of a national party. But congressional Republicans have been talking about Mamdani since even before he won the mayoral election.
