A tale of two Democratic parties: From the Politics Desk

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In today’s edition, Sahil Kapur dives into the split lessons for Democrats coming out of the latest round of primaries. Plus, our Capitol Hill team reports on the fallout from President Donald Trump’s last-minute decision to halt a bipartisan housing bill.

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A tale of two Democratic parties

Analysis by Sahil Kapur

The results of last night’s primaries highlighted an ongoing tale of two Democratic parties: Left-wing candidates running to smash the status quo are gaining ground in big blue cities like New York, while the center-left establishment is holding its own in the suburbs.

The results paint a complicated picture for Democrats, with lingering questions about whether the democratic socialist movement will stick to deep-blue areas where it can take risks because Republicans stand no chance of victory or whether it will expand to competitive areas and complicate the party’s calculus in general elections.

Democratic voters in New York City delivered a major rebuke to their party’s establishment by ousting two incumbents in favor of allies of Mayor Zohran Mamdani , a democratic socialist. Following his victory last fall, democratic socialist candidates advanced to a runoff in the Los Angeles mayoral race and won the Democratic primary for mayor in Washington, D.C.

In addition to Darializa Avila Chevalier ’s defeat of Rep. Adriano Espaillat , the chair of the Hispanic Caucus, and former City Comptroller Brad Lander unseating Rep. Dan Goldman , a third Mamdani-backed candidate, Claire Valdez , handily won a primary to succeed the retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez .

Mamdani celebrated by posting a clip of Knicks star and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson brushing back on his critics by saying: “When you prove them wrong, you don’t have to say s--- to them.”

The mayor had good reason to feel satisfied. But north of the city in Hudson Valley, Democrats nominated center-left Army veteran Cait Conley in a crowded primary, selecting the type of candidate party leaders prefer in a crucial race against two-term Republican Rep. Mike Lawler this fall.

In Utah, moderate former Rep. Ben McAdams won the primary for a redrawn and Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City, defeating progressive challengers including the Bernie Sanders -backed Nate Blouin .

In a Maryland district just outside Washington, D.C., Democrats nominated Adrian Boafo , who had the support of the retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer to succeed him, in a crowded and diverse primary.

And in a Baltimore-based state legislative district, Senate President Bill Ferguson faced progressive challenger Bobby LaPin after drawing ire from some Democrats for not pursuing a redistricting plan this year.

Still, Ferguson won by 13 points as he brushed back on the left’s motto to “fight fire with fire.”

“Firefighters don’t fight fire with fire,” Ferguson told NBC News in Baltimore yesterday afternoon. “In fact, they fight it with water, and they put the fire out. And I think that’s because you have to be strategic and thoughtful. You don’t want to burn the house down.”

For subscribers: Where AI, crypto and pro-Israel groups spent millions, won and lost in Tuesday’s primaries

By Ben Kamsiar

The headlines from yesterday’s primaries centered on New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani ’s proxy victories — but he wasn’t the only major power investing in races across four states.

That includes the hard-fought Democratic primary to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th District , where Assemblyman Micah Lasher defeated fellow Assemblyman Alex Bores , whose calls for additional AI regulations drew big spending from both sides of the industry.

Trump cancels plan to sign major housing bill as he fights with Congress over the SAVE America Act

By Brennan Leach, Kyle Stewart, Melanie Zanona and Alexandra Bacallao

President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his plans to sign a major, bipartisan housing bill today, saying he will not do so until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections bill that has become a focal point of his second term.

It was not immediately clear whether he still plans to sign the housing bill or veto it. And Trump did not address the bill at all in comments to reporters after meeting with Republican senators on Capitol Hill for lunch.

Trump has repeatedly pressed Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would overhaul elections in all 50 states and add new proof of citizenship and voter ID requirements. But Senate GOP leaders insist they do not have the votes to pass it, given Democrats’ strong opposition and an unwillingness among Republicans to get rid of the legislative filibuster.

Rising tensions: During the lunch with Trump, Sen. Bill Cassidy , R-La., told reporters that he stood up and “lost my temper” over a lack of information from the administration on Iran. Trump, he said, raised his voice as well.

Cassidy recounted telling Trump that the war “was supposed to last four weeks. It’s lasted four months. Our original objectives have not been achieved, and I want to know what’s going on.”

On the other side of the Capitol: Some House Republicans were dumbfounded by Trump’s decision not to sign the housing legislation that passed through both chambers with huge majorities.

“What a s--- show. ... Crazy crazy crazy,” one House Republican said in a text to NBC News. “A once in a generation housing bill falls victim to the nuts.”A House Republican who represents a district Trump won handily in 2024 warned about the potential consequences for November. “I’m not that safe. No incumbent is safe,” the Republican wrote. “People are pissed off that we are not taking care of business.”

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That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.

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