Since last November's presidential election, it has been like Christmas and our birthdays all rolled into one, watching the Democrat party flailing about. Unless there is a major change, it doesn't seem like that flailing about is going to end any time soon. What is also fascinating to watch is their massive lurch to the far left. The evidence of that lurch was on full display Tuesday with the win in the Democrat primary for New York City mayor of avowed Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani. The left claims to be so concerned about election integrity, but was Mamdani's victory really a clean one?

Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn knows a thing or two about getting someone elected. On Thursday, he appeared on the Fox News Channel with Laura Ingraham and made some interesting observations about how Tuesday's results came about. He stated that the primary system was "manipulated" to benefit Mamdani. He said to Ingraham,

“This is a big problem, and there is a lot of panic, I think, in New York, generally, in terms of what can they do? How can they get someone in the general election? Remember, these primaries were played with."

READ MORE: New York City Just Voted to Destroy Itself, and It's Time to Let It Happen

The first issue with the New York City election is the use of the ranked-choice voting system. As of around 10:30 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday night, with 88 percent of the vote in, Mamdani was leading with 43.5 percent of first-choice votes. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was second with 36.3 percent. Cuomo ultimately conceded the race before a final call could be made. 

Penn talked about the fact that the ranked-choice voting system is confusing to many voters. But the second, and maybe even bigger issue with the primary is timing. Penn explained:

“This (the primary) used to be in September. And there would have been a runoff between Zohran and Andrew Cuomo in the old system with much higher turnout. Right now, you have a city of 8 million people, 400,000 votes one way or the other here is determining an extreme move to the left, with a voting system nobody could figure out."

Penn made no bones about what he thinks needs to happen before November, saying,

“This has been played with and moved to the dead of summer when turnout is going to be low, and activists can win the day. So, we need to get our election system back. And right now I think this is a really bad turn for the Democratic Party if something isn’t figured out here before Election Day."

Zohran Mamdani's win to become the Democrat nominee for mayor of America's largest city has not only alarmed Republicans, but even Democrats like Penn and former strategist James Carville know Mamdani's extreme views are not a good look for the floundering party. On a recent podcast, Carville stated:

"Depending on who comes in a general election, there's a lot of Democrats that are going to have a hard go at this. I think it's a potentially damaging event."

 The Democrat base is dominated by the far-left, socialist movement.

Carville's fellow podcaster, Al Hunt, said it best that Mamdani could well be a "gift to Republicans." Carville and Hunt have wealthy white liberals to thank for Mamdani's win. Cuomo did well in predominantly black and Jewish areas of the city.

ALSO READ: Carville Sounds Alarm About ‘Gift To Republicans’ Of Socialist Mayoral Primary Victory

Mark Penn, Carville, Hunt, and the rest have reason to be scared of a Mamdani candidacy. His extreme views, like rent freezing, free city buses, free child care, and government-run grocery stores, are quickly becoming the face of the Democrat party. He has also made jarring anti-Israel anti-Jewish statements, such as refusing to acknowledge Israel's right to exist, defending the phrase "globalize the intifada," threatening to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and accusing Israel of genocide. If Mark Penn is right, and Democrats engineered a Mamdani victory, the results will be the next self-inflicted kill shot to the Democrat party.    

Zohran Mamdani will face off in the general election in November against Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Cuomo and current Mayor Eric Adams are both running as independents, and could hurt Mamdani, splitting the vote. That's good for Sliwa. The other bright spot for Sliwa, and quite possibly for the city itself, there is no ranked-choice voting in the general election.

Editor's Note: Donald Trump and his team have been fighting against the left’s extreme agenda. 

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