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Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., suggested that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani represents the “new generation” of leaders young Democrats are looking for.
From his past condemnations of police to his defense of people using the phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” Mamdani’s record of far-left statements has put both Republicans and Democrats on high alert.
Slotkin spoke to NBC News correspondent Julie Tsirkin after her town hall on Monday night. While Tsirkin noted that the crowd was “overwhelmingly composed of White seniors and older voters,” Slotkin made repeated overtures to the economic concerns of young people.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., has argued that the Democratic Party needs a complete overhaul to take back political power. (Photo by Paul Sancya – Pool/Getty Images)
NEW YORK DEMOCRAT SAYS MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI ‘TOO EXTREME TO LEAD’
“I think this is the existential issue of our time, a shrinking middle class and this idea that young people feel like they’ve done everything right, and they don’t have the same opportunities that their parents had, and they feel frustration about that,” Slotkin told the correspondent.
“And then the second thing is they want to see a new generation of leadership. I mean, I’m 49 years old, so I’m a good deal older than a lot of our youngest voters, and I’m like the spring chicken in the Senate. So they don’t see themselves in elected leadership,” she added.
Tsirkin also asked if the prominence of the cost of living issue is why Mamdani won such a surprising victory in New York.
“Yeah,” Slotkin agreed. “I’ve said very openly that I don’t – I never would be called an expert on New York City politics, but the two messages were like a blinking red light. How can you miss them? People are still extremely focused on the cost of living and how they can’t get ahead. Still the motivating issue, and then number two, they want that new generation of leadership.”
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Zohran Mamdani appears to reflect a generational shift in Democratic Party politics. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Getty)
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“I may not agree with a number of things that Mr. Mamdani is proposing, but it’s hard to miss the message of that election, which I think was very similar, frankly, to the election we had in November,” she added. “Cost of living is still the biggest issue for people that I talked to.”
