Maryland Dem Sen Van Hollen calls NY Hill Democrats 'spineless' for not backing Mamdani for mayor

Maryland Democrat Sen. Chris Van Hollen is criticizing the Democratic congressional caucus for not backing Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic-socialist who is the Democrat Party's nominee for New York City mayor and the race frontrunner. 

Van Hollen made the remarks Saturday at a political fundraiser in Iowa – a key, early-balloting state in presidential elections. 

“Many Democratic members of the Senate and the House representing New York have stayed on the sidelines,” he said during the Polk County Democratic Party’s Steak Fry in Des Moines, according to the New York Post. “That kind of spineless politics is what people are sick of. They need to get behind him and get behind him now.”

Some Democrats appear reluctant to back Mamdani considering the party's big losses in 2025 have been attributed to it having gone too far left and as it seeks a more moderate position in hopes of winning the White House in 2028.