Republican leaders wasted little time over the past 24 hours seeking to make Zohran Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party, painting the leading New York mayoral candidate as a left-wing extremist and signaling that they would try to tie him to other Democratic candidates across the country.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, another New York Republican rumored to be eyeing a gubernatorial run, declared on X that Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul must be in “full-blown panic mode” and warned that “New Yorkers will defeat you to save our state.”

Zohran Mamdani's upset victory in New York's Democratic mayoral primary has split his party and given Republicans a new figure to weaponize.