By Joshua Chaffin and Joe Barrett

First came Zohran Mamdani, an avowed socialist with scant executive experience, who in June shocked the Democratic mainstream when he captured its primary for New York City mayor.

Now the rise of Omar Fateh -- the so-called Mamdani of Minneapolis running for mayor there -- is lending credence to the notion of a widening rift between the party's centrist establishment and a progressive wing that has been energized by its opposition to Israel's war in Gaza and demands for affordable housing.

Depending on how it plays out, the contest between those factions could have implications not only for next year's midterm elections but also, more broadly, the future course and leadership of a party grasping to present a compelling alternative to Donald Trump.

The 35-year-old Fateh -- like Mamdani, 33 -- represents a youthful break with the past and a rejection of the business-friendly, centrist ethos that many Democrats have long believed was essential for the party to win national elections.

The Minnesota state senator and member of the Democratic Socialists of America has vowed to raise the minimum wage and impose rent controls, among other progressive wishes, if elected. His campaign received a jolt when Minneapolis's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party -- the local branch of national Democrats -- recently bestowed its endorsement on him over two-term incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, who has challenged the process.

It was reportedly the first time in 16 years the Minneapolis DFL had endorsed a mayoral candidate.

In a statement, Fateh hailed the backing as an indication that voters were "done with broken promises, vetoes and politics as usual."

Establishment on defense

But in a sign of party strife, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, last year's Democratic nominee for the vice presidency, has just thrown his support behind Frey, whom he touted as "a partner I can trust to actually deliver progressive policies that improve people's lives."

Other party officials have warned that Fateh, who has previously advocated defunding the police, could imperil Democrats' chances elsewhere in a state that has become vital for national elections.

That same view was expressed in recent days -- albeit from the other side of the aisle -- by Republican strategist Karl Rove, who expressed a kind of glee at the arrival of the far-left mayoral candidates. "The more that we get people like this representing the face of the Democratic Party, the harder it is [for them] to win back voters in the middle of American politics," Rove said on Fox News.

Republicans, led by Trump, have long portrayed Democratic-run cities as examples of left-wing disorder.

In New York, two of the state's most senior Democrats -- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries -- have refrained so far from endorsing Mamdani.

For Schumer -- American government's most senior Jewish lawmaker and one of Israel's most steadfast supporters, but a critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- endorsing Mamdani would mean blessing a Muslim politician who is hostile to Israel and has refused to disavow the phrase "globalize the intifada."

Yet declining to do so could carry its own cost: inviting a 2028 challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) if she doesn't run for president, according to Doug Schoen, the veteran Democratic pollster.

"This is no longer a dispute that's in the background," Schoen said, calling the success of Mamdani and Fateh "a harbinger of a generational changeover" for the party. "The energy in the party is now with the progressives," he said. "The enthusiasm is with the progressives."

Among them is Usamah Andrabi, a spokesman for Justice Democrats, a group working to elect a new generation of grassroots candidates. While some Democrats, including James Carville, the Clinton-era campaign strategist, are urging party unity in the face of Trump, Andrabi predicted a raucous primary season next year as newly-emboldened progressives challenge the status quo.

"The path to victory in 2026 for Democrats in the midterms," he said, "is a rich and broad Democratic primary process where new leaders emerge as Democratic nominees -- and leaders who actually excite and inspire the Democratic base."

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, said more moderate Democrats like herself have to remind voters that socialists are a significant minority in the party -- but still a minority.

"You are going to find them in every state," she said. "They just don't usually rise -- they don't get elected."

'A real talent'

Fateh was born in Washington, D.C., to Somali immigrants and grew up and attended school in Northern Virginia. His father was a civil engineer with the U.S. Department of Transportation, while his mother stayed home. After moving to Minneapolis, Fateh held various government jobs before being elected to the state Senate in 2020.

In the legislature, he championed free tuition at state colleges for families making less than $80,000 a year and minimum wages for ride-share drivers. Among his supporters: his colleague, Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman, who survived an assassination attack in June.

Both the New York and Minneapolis mayoral races have been colored by local issues and characters. Mamdani, for example, benefited from voters' discontent with two scandal-tarnished opponents, Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

In Minneapolis, a city that in many ways is still emerging from the cloud of the 2020 killing of George Floyd, Frey is viewed as a moderate Democrat who often tries to rein in the more progressive city council.

The mayor has challenged the results of the party convention that endorsed Fateh, citing technology glitches that he said appeared to leave many votes uncounted. Party leaders have defended the convention, and the Fateh campaign says it simply out-organized the Frey team. In New York, Mamdani was the winner of a traditional primary.

Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a Democrat who hasn't endorsed anyone in the race, pointed to "vastly different" situations in the two cities.

"In New York, a very charismatic candidate captured the public imagination -- socialists and a whole lot more," he said. "In Minneapolis, a candidate won a Democratic endorsement that historically has meant very little in a contested contest with less than 1% of the population in the room."

Common themes

Yet there are also similarities that may be instructive for other Democrats. Both Mamdani and Fateh have put affordability at the center of their campaigns -- be it with promises of free buses or rent freezes. (Fateh prominently identifies himself as a "renter" on his campaign website.)

Both have also been unapologetic about condemning Israel's conduct in Gaza as a "genocide" against Palestinians and demanding wholesale changes to America's relationship with one of its closest allies.

Even in Minneapolis, those stands can be helpful in certain wards but harder to sell elsewhere, said David Sturrock, a political-science professor at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn.

The Democratic Socialists "have a real talent for finding and mobilizing people, bringing them into the system," he said. "How much does that mean for the entire electorate? In November, we'll see."

Write to Joshua Chaffin at joshua.chaffin@wsj.com and Joe Barrett at Joseph.Barrett@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 03, 2025 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

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