Vulnerable House Dem facing heat for 'dodging' questions about socialist Mamdani's rise

As socialist Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral primary win continues to send shock waves through the political landscape, so-called moderate Democrats have increasingly faced calls to disavow or explain their support for the surging candidate, including Rep. Josh Riley, who so far has declined to publicly distance himself.

Riley, who represents New York’s 19th Congressional District, which is ranked by the Cook Political report as "Lean Democrat" heading into next year’s midterms, "dodged reporters" on his stance on Mamdami in late June, Axios reported.

"Despite Mamdani being a completely out of touch radical, Josh Riley won’t condemn him," the National Republican Congressional Committee blasted out in an email the next day. "Perhaps that’s because he agrees with Zohran Mamdani’s socialist agenda?"

Mamdani’s victory, on a platform consisting of a laundry list of far-left agenda items, including city-run grocery stores, defunding the police, safe injection sites and raising the minimum wage to $30, has highlighted a schism within the Democratic Party, with some elected officials supporting him and some condemning him. 

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Democratic Rep. Josh Riley has declined to answer questions about Zohran Mamdani's campaign. (Getty)

Fox News Digital reached out to Riley’s campaign for comment on specifically where he stands on Mamdani’s campaign but did not receive a response. 

"Josh Riley won’t denounce dangerous socialist Zohran Mamdani because they share the same far-left agenda," NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O'Toole told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"His campaign is bankrolled by the exact same radical donors backing Mamdani." 

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Democratic Rep. Josh Riley (Getty)

A Fox News Digital review of FEC records did show some overlap between Riley and Mamdani donors, including over $10,000 in contributions to Riley from several individuals who also donated to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.

Spending records show the two candidates also have shared vendors, including Grassroots Analytics and Scale to Win, for fundraising and compliance consulting.

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Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a rally at the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council headquarters in New York, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Riley and Mamdani share a few notable endorsements as well from far-left groups, including MoveOn.org, the New York Working Families Party and the New York Progressive Action Network. 

The race in NY-19, which will come as the GOP attempts to hold a razor-thin majority in the House, is expected to be highly competitive. Former VP Kamala Harris narrowly edged out President Donald Trump in 2024 in the district by a single percentage point. 

Riley's hesitation to take a firm stance in support of Mamdani and his policies represents a growing trend in the national political conversation. Some believe that progressives like Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are the face of the party while other Democrats have attempted to moderate and steer away from far-left positions.

"It is a political realignment that overwhelmingly favors Republicans and Mamdani’s stunning win just makes the problem worse for Democrats," columnist David Marcus recently wrote for FoxNews.com. "Republicans will have reason to rejoice if Democrats can’t tac to the center, but for New York City, there is no joy; fewer than half a million radical leftists have all but elected a socialist to govern a city of 9 million souls, and if Chicago and San Francisco are anything to learn from, it won’t end well.

"Time is running out for the old establishment Democrats, and one must begin to wonder if they are ever going to even try to fight back."