Primary Challenges and Democratic Gatekeeping

Who owns the future of the Democratic Party?

That’s the question on everyone’s mind since last Tuesday night—when the richest city in America elected 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as its mayor.

You can see Mamdani’s win as a one-off—a charismatic contender facing a rival mired in controversy. But the other way to see it is as emblematic of something larger: a sign about the state—and future—of the left. 

Here was a candidate promising to solve the affordability crisis with free childcare, free buses, rent freezes, and even government-run grocery stores. And despite the socialist bent, most establishment Democrats fell in line to support him—from Kathy Hochul and Hakeem Jeffries to Barack Obama, who reportedly called Mamdani to offer himself as a sounding board.

If that’s true—if Mamdani is the new standard-bearer for Democrats in the way Obama once was—then where does that leave someone like Senator John Fetterman?

The Pennsylvania senator didn’t just withhold his endorsement—he went so far as to say that socialism is not the future of the Democratic Party.

It’s an interesting stance, given that just a few years ago, Fetterman ran a progressive Senate campaign focused on reforming criminal justice,  legalizing marijuana, and raising the minimum wage. He was backed by AOC and Bernie Sanders. The right even called him a “silver-spoon socialist.”

Then came his near-fatal stroke on the day of his Democratic primary—followed by calls from both sides to drop out. Instead, he stayed in the race and won, flipping a GOP Senate seat.

Since coming to Congress, Fetterman has stood out—and not just because he’s six-foot-eight. He’s shown strong support for Israel, a departure from many in his party. He’s said Democrats mishandled border security under Biden. He praised the president for his peace deal in Gaza—and even met with him in Mar-a-Lago.

He’s also publicly blamed Democrats for the government shutdown, saying: “I follow country, then party.” He refused to “play chicken with the food security of 42 million Americans,” and voted 15 times with Republicans to reopen Washington.

On Sunday night, the Senate finally voted to reopen the governement—but only after 40 days of missed paychecks, travel chaos, and millions at risk of losing SNAP benefits.

It was just the latest litmus test for Democrats, highlighting the divide between the centrists and the progressives—between, for lack of better words, the Fetterman wing and the Mamdani wing. And now, Democrats may have to decide which impulse to run on—in 2026, and in 2028.
Today, Bari asks John Fetterman about his decision to speak out against his own party; his recent dinner with Donald Trump—and the backlash that followed; the shutdown and whether he believes the Democratic Party is heading in the right direction; and finally, his new book Unfettered, which chronicles his journey to the Senate, his stroke, his battle with depression, and his time in office.

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