NY Dem Reps. Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen distance themselves from lefty NYC mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani: Were not socialists

Democrats in New York’s battleground suburbs are distancing themselves from New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani and his lefty socialist policies.Long Island members of Congress appeared particularly concerned about Republicans attempting to link them to Mamdani — the Democratic candidate for mayor — in the 2026 midterm elections.“We are not socialists,” Rep.Laura Gillen, who represents Nassau County’s 4th District, said in an interview Wednesday night on News Nation.“[Mamdani] ran a campaign based on a bunch of promises — free everything — without any real economic plan to pay for it., other than raising taxes,” she said.Rep.

Tom Suozzi, who endorsed former Gov.Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary and previously backed Mayor Eric Adams, said in a terse statement that he also was not on board with Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman.“I had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before [the primary], and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent.

Those concerns remain,” Suozzi said in a statement.Gillen opposed Mamdani’s plan to raise taxes on the top 1% city earners and on businesses to generate $9 billion for his proposals.The congresswoman slammed the plan as impractical because it requires the approval of the governor and the state legislature — and argued hiking taxes would do more harm than good.“New York City is the economic engine that drives our state and we need to make sure New York City thrives,” Gillen said.“Zohran Mamdani’s socialist, defund the police platform is wrong for New York City,” she added.Both Gillen and Suozzi won tight races in their House elections last year.Their statements came as the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee was doing cartwheels about having a potential Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated mayor — hoping to use it to use against Dems in battleground districts where socialism is unpopular, or to exploit divisions within the Democratic Party on M...