Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego defended New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani during an interview, urging Democrats who have not supported him to refrain from sidelining candidates who bring new ideas into the party.
When asked what he thought about Mamdani being criticized by members of the party and whether he believes the candidate can resonate with people, Gallego said he considered the criticism to be "stupid," adding:
"Maybe we're not a 100% in agreement. But he has some ideas that are attracting people. It's okay to say 'I disagree with this, this, and this, but I agree with that.' But the idea that we're just gonna throw out people that are really bringing in new ideas to the fold, exciting people, just because they're slightly to the right or to the left of us is dumb"
Gallego went on to say that a problem with Democrats is that "we have been shrinking our tent as much as possible to the point where there are not many people left," and that he feels that happens "on the left side of our party and it also happens on the right side of the party."
Gallego on Mamdani: "It's okay to say 'I disagree with this, this, and this, but I agree with that.' But the idea that we're just gonna throw out people that are really bringing in new ideas to the fold, exciting people, just because they're slightly to the right or to the left… pic.twitter.com/y0dRhxFSXx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 17, 2025
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who defeated incumbent Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, has struggled to secure endorsements from top party leaders, as The New York Times pointed out on Thursday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Gov. Kathy Hochul have all withheld support, citing policy differences and controversies surrounding Mamdani's positions on Israel and his past refusal to denounce the slogan "globalize the intifada."
Jeffries reiterated his refusal to endorse Mamdani last week, also calling questions about him living in a rent-stabilized apartment despite earning nearly $150,000 a year a "legitimate issue". Cuomo has gone further, proposing legislation he calls "Zohran's Law" to bar high-income earners from occupying rent-stabilized housing.
Hochul, on her end, has left the door open to cooperation, noting areas of overlap such as affordability and childcare, though she remains opposed to raising taxes on the wealthy to fund Mamdani's agenda.
Gallego's comments on Mamdani echo his broader criticism of so-called Democratic purity tests. Earlier this year, he warned that the party risks alienating voters by excluding ideological diversity:
"What happened in the last election is that we got so pure, and we kept so pure that we started kicking people out of the tent. It ends up there aren't enough people in the tent to win elections."
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