Does NYC Mayoral Primary Show Democrats Shifting Further Left?
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I'm Shannon Bream. I'm Will Kane. I'm Dana Perino. And this is the Fox News Rundown. Thursday, June 26th, 2025. I'm Dave Anthony. A young progressive is the new favorite to be New York City's next mayor. A Democratic strategist we talked to says voters on the left do want younger candidates.

Where I doubt is whether they want Muslim, leftist, self-declared democratic socialists to be in a prominent place in the party. I'm retired Staff Sergeant Joey Jones. We talked to a great American who got his calling and strived to live life with purpose. I thought as a bomb technician, you know, if I have the good training and do everything I'm taught to do,

then, you know, the odds are in my favor to come out on top. And I'm Carol Markowitz. I've got the final word on the Fox News Rundown. It was a blueprint for victory in a blue race in a blue city. We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford.

A city where they can do more than just struggle. Zoran Mamdani may be the next mayor, declaring himself the winner of the Democratic primary in New York City. And it's where the mayor will use their power to reject Donald Trump's fascism.

And though the final results with ranked choice voting won't be until next month, former Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat. He put together a great campaign and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them. Now, Cuomo could stay in the race as an independent, just like current Mayor Eric Adams, who tells Fox Mom Donnie is a snake.

sells me. He will say and do anything to get elected. Mom Donnie, campaigning a lot on social media, promised buses and child care would be free, rent prices frozen, city-operated grocery stores and a $30 minimum wage. At the

At the beginning of the race, it was a very, very surprising outcome to consider. Doug Schoen is a Democratic consultant and former advisor to President Bill Clinton, founder and partner at Schoen Cooperman Research. Given that the left consolidated around Mondami, given that Cuomo was never able to project a rationale for why he should be elected mayor...

and given the anger with the Democratic Party from the grassroots, in retrospect, it's less astounding than it seems at first blush.

You say the grassroots. Mom, Domi is 33 years old. He's been in the state assembly and this is his third term. He did what President Trump did. He was a lot older, of course, when he won back the White House. He did a lot of work and Trump surrogates did as well of reaching through social media to younger voters.

That is undeniably the case. And Cuomo used TV ads, which clearly were not effective. And Mondami built a volunteer base, social media, and was able to captivate the city and particularly the Democratic primary electorate. When you see that being a successful blueprint...

Is that the way that it's going to be as we get into the 2026 congressional races, using these short videos, using social media a lot more, and maybe more younger candidates try? I certainly think tactically more social media, more short videos make sense. I also think the electorate, given the age of the Democrats in Congress, is

will be receptive to younger candidates, where I doubt is whether they want Muslim leftist, self-declared democratic socialists to be in a prominent place in the party.

New York City is not San Francisco. It's not as big of a leftist type city as some others are. I mean, you look, Rudy Giuliani was a mayor. He was Republican. Michael Bloomberg did three terms in New York City. And at one point he was a Republican. This is not the same as some of those other places. Why did it work for Vandamii?

Well, this was a Democratic primary, so the only people who could vote were registered Democrats. That helped him enormously. But what he was also helped by was a sense that the Democrats in New York City and indeed nationally are tired, out of touch, too old, as you said. And Mondami had a message of change,

free services that appeal to people who are increasingly finding life unaffordable. You say the free services. Is that unique to cities as a candidate, like going, you know, free busing here, free child care here? Or is that

Something that Democrats across the board, progressive candidates will attempt, do you think, as we get into the next 2026 campaign? Certainly Democrats will run on affordability.

whether there will be wholesale support for free child care, free transportation. I think that remains to be seen. But the impetus behind this, that life has gotten just too unaffordable, I think will continue. All right. Now, what is the percentage, you think, of Democrats across the country that would consider themselves progressive? 20, 25 percent.

So it's an uphill battle for anyone to try to do what Mamdani did. Well, it is. But in primaries, the Democrats that vote tend to be 35, 40 percent progressive or very liberal, depending on how they describe themselves. So as we saw with Bernie Sanders, who endorsed Mamdani, there is a lot of energy behind Mamdani.

what Mondami stood for, even if it not be this specific issue agenda. Well, not just Bernie Sanders, of course, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Congresswoman from New York City. She was very adamant for his candidacy. Not only that, she was very outspoken that we cannot have former Governor Cuomo as the nominee. Well, she was, and she proved to be prescient.

And I think that voters clearly want new and different leaders, probably younger, but certainly different with a different philosophy. Nate Silver, who certainly made a name for himself as an election analysis expert here, he had put out that the victory for Mondani was

is a thrashing that the Democratic establishment deserved, calling Cuomo tired and entitled and put out to pasture. Is it because of just Cuomo and his baggage he had to resign in 2021 as the governor in a sex scandal? Or is it just older Democrats in general? I'd say it's both. I think they want a fresh generation of this electorate, new candidates,

And they want people who can bring change. They don't want people from the past. That seems pretty clear. As someone who wasn't isn't a progressive in the party, let's say, let's say a moderate Democrat. How do they fight back on the progressive movement that wants to rise up and continue to grow?

Well, this is the thing. The Democratic Party is divided. It shows no signs of coming together. There has to be a willingness in more conservative swing districts, none of which are in New York City, I might add.

to nominate moderates who have a chance to get crossover votes. Because one thing's for sure, for certain, AOC or Mondani or candidates like that are not going to win swing districts in the heartland that may now be represented by Republicans. We've seen some progressives get primaried out in the last election cycle. We did.

We did, like Jamal Bowman in New York. This, I think, was a unique time after the presidential debacle and after Cuomo's unique circumstances behind his candidacy were fully aired and vetted.

Is there a national Democratic leader? Obviously, we had President Biden drop out of the race. Vice President Harris ran and lost to President Trump.

Who stands out to you as the leader in the party? Is it still President Obama? Well, I don't really know. Let's just say after this victory, you certainly can't count out AOC. And she is, of course, very outspoken against President Trump. She's even considered throwing out the impeachment word. Certainly Democrats did that twice before.

In the first Trump administration, she's upset that he didn't go to Congress to get authorization for the airstrikes in Iran. A lot of Democrats were upset about that. She has risen. How big of an influence is she going to have beyond New York City races? Well, time will tell. She's been mentioned as a prospective candidate for the U.S. Senate.

and even for the presidency. So I don't know what the limits are, but I can say this. After Tuesday, her star is in the ascendancy. The impeachment talk. She's not the only Democrat who's mentioned that in Congress since the second time in office for President Trump. Do you think that has any possibility for momentum?

No, none at all. Look, whether the bombings of the three facilities in Iran were totally successful, partially successful, or even minimally successful, I think most Americans have to be proud of the decision the president made, how it was executed, and what the at least apparent impact was with a ceasefire

coming in the aftermath. So I don't think that impeachment makes any sense for the Democrats, AOC or anyone. Doug, you and I talked not long after President Trump was inaugurated for his second term and you had advocated the Democrats ought to try to work with him. Do you think that's fallen on deaf ears completely?

Yeah, I think it has fallen on deaf ears. I would have thought other than John Fetterman, there would have been more Democrats who would have been supportive of the attacks on a regime that is trying to get nuclear weapons and is fomenting terrorism in the Middle East and around the world. I would have thought there would have been an effort

to promote some sort of compromise, as difficult as that may seem, on the big, beautiful bill. But there were no discussions and there won't be any discussions. So I think we're dealing with a situation where the parties are going to be at loggerheads. And when you talk about Senator Fetterman, some have thought that he might even leave the Democratic Party. Do you think that's possible?

I think it's possible. He says he's not doing it. He says that he remains committed to democratic principles vis-a-vis the social safety net. But you never say never. And I think he's got, what, four more years till he runs for reelection, if I have it right. In New York City, the current mayor is independent. He's running for reelection. He's stayed out of the Democratic primary.

Andrew Cuomo might stay in this race as an independent candidate. Is that something that you could see? You talked about the Democrats being fractured. Is it possible that you could have progressives win primaries and other Democrats run as independents? Is a trend or is this just a New York thing? It's possible that the New York system allows for it. The other thing

is Andrew Cuomo, I think by his concession, understands that he's not going to be running a vigorous campaign in November. And Eric Adams has a lot of baggage, both in terms of his job ratings, his ties to President Trump and the allegations of corruption that led to his indictment. So I make Mondami the clear favorite. They'll probably be closer than it would otherwise be, but I think he's the clear favorite.

Doug Schoen, political consultant, founder and partner of Schoen Cooperman Research for advisor to President Bill Clinton. Good to talk to you. Thanks so much. Great. Thanks for having me as always. The spirit of innovation is deeply ingrained in America. And Google is helping Americans innovate in ways both big and small. The Department of Defense is working with Google to help secure America's digital defense systems from establishing cloud-based zero-trust solutions to

to deploying the latest AI technology. This is a new era of American innovation. Find out more at g.co slash American innovation. This week on the Brett Baer podcast, my all-star panel weighs in on issues at home and abroad as the president responds to the conflict in the Middle East. I'm joined by Martha McCallum, Peter Doocy, and CEO of Schoen Cooperman Research, Carly Cooperman. Listen and follow now at foxnewspodcast.com. This is Carol Markowitz with your Fox News commentary coming up.

Fox News Podcasts presents Great Americans on the Fox News Rundown. I'm retired Staff Sergeant Joey Jones. Most of us who fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan joined in response to seeing America attacked on September 11, 2001. That motivation, that drive to answer the call, it's not unique to just my generation. Throughout our nation's history, whenever the U.S. has been threatened or ambushed,

Young folks have stepped up to defend their country. Steve Hennigan, who served in the United States Marine Corps, remembers very clearly the Beirut bombings of 1983, when suicide bombers linked to Islamic jihad were responsible for the deaths of over 240 Americans, making it the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Armed Forces since the first day of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War.

Steve was angry, and he enlisted in the Marines the next day. After a successful career as a Marine, he went on to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a cop, joining the Los Angeles Police Department in 1987, where for over 35 years, he risked his life to keep the city safe and build a bond between the community and the police, even during L.A.'s darkest days. I featured him in my new book, Behind the Badge,

Because his story was an inspiration to me, and I was impressed by his desire to protect and serve. I was going to junior college at the time in Fresno, California, and a buddy of mine from football, he joined the Marine Corps, and he came to visit me at my job and started telling me about his experiences in Marine Corps boot camp. Steve Hennigan is a retired Los Angeles police officer, bomb technician, and

and Marine machine gunner. And at that time, also, there was the Beirut bombing in 1983 of October that kind of pushed me over the edge also to do something for my country. And that's why I joined the Marine Corps then.

You know, I want to talk about Beirut for a second. What made, you know, go over Beirut and like what, what the emotional reaction you had in the time period? Like I said, it was October of 83. I was up late at night, just came from a friend's house and I had the TV on. And this one night in the morning, it all changed. And they came on live and said that the Beirut bombing of the Marine barracks just happened and that there was mass casualty event. And a lot of Marines were either injured or killed and

Obviously, when the final count came out, I think it was like 241 Marines were killed in the barracks from a large vehicle truck bomb. Fast forward, you joined the Marine Corps. Did you know when you joined the Marine Corps that you eventually wanted to become a police officer? Yes, that was my thought. My uncle was a Sacramento cop. He also said it would be a great thing because he was a Coast Guard veteran and it helped him.

get on sacramento pd back in the 60s because he had four years of uh continued service and and a history if you will for for that and and it's true lapd hired me right away uh out of the marine corps i was still in when i was testing so um i started the academy may 2nd 1988 yeah

So it was way before the Rodney King incident. And I, I just happened to work on probation for a year and a half at Foothill division where the incident happened after I left. And so I knew a few of the people that were involved. I'd love your reflection on that. What was life as a Los Angeles police officer like before and after? Well, I'll tell you the, uh, before the Rodney King incident, uh,

I would think that we pretty much, we had the streets under control to where

Meaning that, you know, our presence alone just in the street and being proactive policing. And, you know, there's also critics of that, too. Sure. That, you know, being proactive, you know, in the broken window program back then in the 80s, you know, it helped curtail the crime in the city of Los Angeles. Of course, you know, the gangs were a major issue back when I started. That's I was an initial push.

of hiring a bunch of officers because of the gang problem. So that was a whole nother, you know, sister fight in itself was with the street gangs that were there. But after the Rodney King incident, yeah, it kind of,

That's when I could tell, you know, people were more afraid or not afraid, but more people were hesitant to do their job because they didn't want to be judged. And that's pretty much when the judging of police came about, because obviously we know that was a videotaped incident. It was shown thousands and thousands of times in the city and local stations of L.A. and quite frankly, all throughout the United States.

You know, moving on through your career, you're a police officer for a while before you became a bomb tech. Tell me about that. Tell me about, you know, did you, did you take pride in that work? Was it difficult? I mean, most of us that aren't in Los Angeles probably think of like, you know, fast and furious when we think about Los Angeles, this whole underbelly of crime or corruption or, you know, just adrenaline junkies. Like there's a lot of things I think of when I think of being a police officer in LA. Well,

Well, yeah, I took pride in my work. I did the whole time. That's where I took pride in going out there on my shifts and trying to do the best I can to get those people off the streets. So those people of citizens of Los Angeles could could go about their and have a normal life, you know, without crime plaguing them in their in their neighborhoods.

You know, you're in my book, Behind the Badge. One issue we didn't broach that I think is, I always find interesting is the rooftop Koreans. Do you remember that? And tell us about that.

Yeah, that was the area that I worked. That was Wilshire division. And I knew a lot of those Korean business people. That was in my very first assignment on motors a week after or one week after I graduated motor school was in South Central L.A. That's where I was assigned. So I literally got.

thrown into the fire, if you will, when that happened. But yeah, seeing the business owners on there, you know, taking control of their area so they didn't burn, you know, was pretty amazing. And it worked, you know. So they were just, they took pride in their community. A lot of those people went through hell just to get to the United States and start a business there in Los Angeles. And they didn't want anything to happen to that or their families. So I don't blame them. And

There was talk and rumors that there was off-duty officers up there helping him out. What made you decide, okay, well, I'm already a police officer and I'm putting my life on the line. And in the book, you told a couple of stories that are just kind of unbelievable because you use discernment and kind of put yourself in more danger because you had an instinct that the person who was suspected to be the perpetrator had some humanity left in them. And in many cases, many stories you explained, it turned out that way.

Um, but what made you decide, Hey, I'm already putting my life on the line. Let me go be a bomb tech too. And my family reminds me of it quite often that I always thought I wanted to be a police officer since I was like three years old, I think three or five, my mom was saying. Um, but, um, you know, one thing I can attribute, you know, to my career is my wife. Well, you know, I met my wife, she's an emergency room nurse right out of the academy.

And there's one thing my wife never said to me in my career every time I came to her and said, hey, I was thinking about doing this. She never said no. She's like, hey, if that makes you happy, you know, it makes you happy. And it does. It's, you know, getting exposed in the Marine Corps to the explosives in infantry training school. I think that's where I first got the bug of wanting to be in the bomb squad. And, you know, the danger part, never thought about it.

I think it was more dangerous being a motorcycle officer in the streets of LA than a bomb technician. Because, you know, as a bomb technician, we have somewhat control over our destiny, I think. But on a motorcycle, you could just be cruising down the street, stopped at a red light and get rear-ended by somebody doing 70 miles an hour and killed, which happened to a couple of my friends. Or just, you know, enforcing the laws and somebody pulling out in front of you and you crashing and losing your life. And that happened to a lot of guys that I knew.

that died in the line of duty in LA. But yeah, so at least I thought as a bond technician, you know, if I have the good training and do everything I'm taught to do, then, you know, the odds are in my favor to come out on top. So, you know, now you've retired, you've moved, you're still involved in EOD work, kind of helping others learn and train.

Right. Looking back on this career, a lifetime of working to serve your community, do you have any regrets and what are you most proud of?

You know, being a bond technician, that was probably the best part of my career, I would say, because, you know, I got to get back into the brotherhood of the Marine Corps, if you think about it. And I know you and I have discussed this before, is that being a bond tech and being able to train with, you know, Marine EOD, and when I met you before you got deployed in 2010, you know,

and doing cross training and stuff, that made me a better person and a better bond technician and a better officer, I think, because just dealing with Marines still, like I said, it was a great experience. And I always said I got the best of both worlds 'cause I got to still hang out with my brother Marines and be a police officer.

And in both careers, you know, crossing over to each other to making me a better person and a better bond tech, I think. And then I do that right now by helping out in contract teaching with the ATF and explosive related courses for civilian bond techs and military bond techs. So I take pride in that. And I think that's what I'm most proud of is that, you know, I was able to continue in retirement.

and giving knowledge or helping people with the knowledge that I know that's not all stuck in my head and that I'm able to get it out. And hopefully, and I always hope that it saves lives

people or helps people in their career. And, you know, if I could just do that, that's one thing that I am proud of. Well, Steve, I hope people read more of your story in the book, because I think you just really exemplify what it means to carry the responsibility and the authority, but also continue with the empathy and the heart and the love for people. And I think that's something that really shines when you tell the details of your story.

I can't thank you enough, not just for being a friend and for helping train us to get ready to go out into Afghanistan, but for sharing your story and continuing to serve that way. Here's to a couple more decades of doing what you've always done, which is protecting your community and continuing to contribute. And man, I just thank you for joining us. And I appreciate everything you've done, Triple J, because, you know, you brought a voice to the

to the law enforcement first responders that we don't get to get out that often because there's not people out there like you that are willing to tell that story. And I appreciate it. And I could probably say, you know, speaking for other people that I know, first responders, that they appreciate it also. And I want to thank you for that too. For more interviews highlighting great Americans, go to foxnewsrundown.com.

Fox News Audio presents Unsolved with James Patterson. Every crime tells a story, but some stories are left unfinished. Somebody knows. Real cases, real people. Listen and follow now at foxtruecrime.com. Subscribe to this podcast at foxnewspodcasts.com.

It's time for your Fox News commentary. Carol Markowitz. What's on your mind? Jews in New York should be worried about Zoran Mamdani's Democratic primary win. But to only worry about that would be focusing on the wrong thing.

Yes, Mamdani is uniquely bad. Yes, Mamdani is a danger to Jews. And yes, Brooklyn remains the capital of violent attacks on Jews, and Mamdani will do absolutely nothing to stop it. But what Jews in New York and elsewhere have to accept and internalize is that this is the natural progression of leftism.

All of the bad ideas of leftism, all the terrible policies, the defunding of police, the destruction of schools, taking away rigor and merit so that they can be more fair. All of the DEI policies, all of these things are harmful to everyone. But in the omnicase of leftist politics, Jews will continue to find themselves on the wrong side.

I'm a lifelong conservative. I was a lifelong New Yorker until I moved to Florida three years ago. I'm a Jew. It's long past the time for Jews to abandon the left and realize their actual friends are to the right. Maybe Mamdani is what is needed to open more eyes.

This is Carol Markowitz, columnist at the New York Post and host of The Carol Markowitz Show. You've been listening to the Fox News Rundown. And now, stay up to date by subscribing to this podcast at foxnewspodcasts.com. Listen ad-free on Fox News Podcasts Plus on Apple Podcasts. And Prime members can listen to the show ad-free on Amazon Music. And for up-to-the-minute news, go to foxnews.com.

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