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WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told The Post Wednesday that long-serving Democratic Party figures are in “big trouble” if Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayoral race in November — with even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer facing a possible primary challenge from “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
In an exclusive interview on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Thune weighed in on the stakes of the off-year NYC vote and warned that Dems have “moved so far left to where the American people are, at least most places.”
“Now, maybe he wins in New York City,” Thune, 64, added of Mamdani, 33, “but if he becomes the face of the Democrat Party nationally they’re in big trouble.”
The South Dakotan added that the likelihood of the far-left Empire State legislator triumphing over the likes of incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was “scary,” adding “I feel for the people of New York City.”
Thune became the latest high-ranking Republican to opine Wednesday on the prospect of Mamdani taking over Gracie Mansion, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dubbing the socialist’s platform — which notoriously includes plans for government-run grocery stores — as turning the Big Apple into “Caracas on the Hudson.”
Mamdani has yet to nab endorsements from either Schumer or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), as both grapple with a rebellion from their activist-and-donor base that has elevated AOC to one of the top fundraisers in Congress.
“I think he’s under a lot of pressure — it’s not just her,” Thune said of Schumer, his counterpart in the Senate. “I’ve called it the tail wagging the dog in his caucus.”
“The far left in the Democrat caucus right now is where the energy, the money, the volunteers, the activists — it’s all in that,” he added.
Rumors of a primary challenge from Schumer’s left gained steam in March, when the Democratic leader caught flak — including from House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-NY) — for joining with Republicans to pass a stopgap bill averting a government shutdown.
“He wisely took the move to keep the government open, but of course, he got lit up for it by his political base, which is the challenge he has,” Thune said of a potential 2028 primary. “And whether it’s AOC or somebody else, you know, it’s just this is the politics of the moment on the Democrat side of the aisle.”
More recently, Schumer has gone along with Democrats in their fight against the Senate confirming President Trump’s political appointees.
None of Trump’s picks have been approved by voice vote — despite every administration since former President Bill Clinton’s having gotten a majority of nominees through.
“As recently as Bill Clinton, 98% of all the noms considered were handled either by voice [vote] or UC [unanimous consent] and and it’s just deteriorated over time to where Trump’s, you know, we’re at zero here,” Thune remarked. “It’s got to be fixed.”
The Senate is scheduled to break for its month-long August recess at the end of this week, but President Trump has implored the majority leader to keep senators in town to confirm additional nominees.
Thune has been lobbying the White House and others to strike deals over a handful of Democratic slots for positions in the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission — and provide input for some ambassadorships — to break the logjam.
The “trade bait” Republicans have held out hasn’t budged Schumer, he noted, or gotten other Democrats to make any handshake agreements for the nominations process.
“Schumer, he’s got folks over there who keep approaching members on our side about wanting to make a deal on noms,” Thune said, “but he’s not having it.”
“If they would nominate some folks to those slots,” he added, “we’d have more actually to trade with, but, that notwithstanding … it’s without precedent and it’s not sustainable, so this is gonna have to be fixed and right now there’s just a conversation going on with our colleagues about the best way to do it.”
One topic that won’t come up before the Senate is additional gun control legislation after mass shooter Shane Tamura gunned down four people in a Midtown office building — including an off-duty NYPD officer working security — before taking his own life Monday evening.
Thune added that the tragedy has generated “a lot of conversations” in Congress after Republicans previously rejected frantic calls for stricter national gun laws.
“I don’t think making, you know, decisions in the heat of the moment, when something like that happens leads to the best outcome or the best policy,” he added.
Reps for Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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