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As the Republicans eagerly seek to install the PIN of the Democratic Party in New York City Mandela, two special races look like the first opportunities to do so: the state of the Michigan Senate Primary and the Colorado Senate Primary and Colorado.
In Michigan, Abdul El promised to be the next US Senator. In Colorado, Manny Rutinel runs into a freshman rep fight. Gabe Evans, R-Colo.
With both audiences the Republican National Committee (RNC) will see a connection with the Mayor – elected in New York.
Republicans are pushing to make Mamdani the new face of the democratic party
New York City Democratic Mailerd Totaitiotiot Zohran Mamdani celebrates as she takes the stage at her group’s Good Night Party in Brooklyn, New York City, Nov. 4, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty)
“Manny Rutinel and Abdul El-balted checked out Mamdani, thinking he would get them on the line. Republicans are watching,” said RNC spokesperson, “RNC spokesperson Delanie Bomar said.”
Republielican strategists hope that efforts to tie socialism to democratic candidates will reduce their chances outside of New York. For the Democrats themselves, which presents the question: Will the immediate momentum be the momentum Mamdani brings to the Republicans’ long-term bottom line? Or does the similarity with Mamdani’s recent success help them out?
El-Meed walks this line carefully. When asked if he would accept the idea of becoming Michigan’s Mamdani, El-watch said he would release his photo.
“I’m Michigan Abdul,” he said. “I always was. I always will be.”
But like Mamdani, El-Meed has made spending — and the role of government — key pieces of his campaign. In addition to calling for lower housing costs, he advocates for Medicare for all, opposes the tax carve-outer, and supports unrestricted access to higher education. He expects voters from New York, Michigan and beyond to continue in that direction.
“You’re seeing that kind of resonance here in Michigan for sure. And I’m not surprised you’re seeing that in New York, too. The government should be available to put those basic things in place that you need and deserve.
El-Meed endorsed Mamdani before the mayoral election last week.
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A podium set up for the election night event with Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mandela Nominee, not shown, at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in New York City, Nov. 4, 2025. (Adam gray/bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rutinel, a Democratic challenger in Colorado, has not made his policy platform clear. The first-time state representative has no positions listed on his website. And aside from signing a letter calling for the ice keeper’s ouster, he hasn’t made any public statements that would alienate him from the Democrat party.
That did not stop the Confessional Leader Fund (CLF) from pulling Mamdani’s connection though.
The CLF, the arm of the House Republican Fundratus Acpatus, highlighted a video posted on Instagram of Mamdani’s campaign, offering it as proof that the rutinel belongs to the same bucket as Mamdani.
The video briefly shows a rutinel-looking person standing behind Mamdani.
“Is the CO-08 race the same as the NYC Manerd race? Democrat Manny Rutinel is campaigning for both,” CLF pointed out recently in one of its ads.
Rutinel’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The office of Evans, the current representative of Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, did not immediately withdraw the connection with Mamdani but made the case that New York and Colorado have very different electorates. They suggested that an attempt to replicate Mamdani’s strategy in Colorado would have played out differently in the context of the century.
“When people tell you who they are, they believe you. The Democrats have completely endorsed the left-wing Socialist, the same foundations of the New York party, but the coluses are working on it,” said a spokesman for Evans.
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Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo. (Bill Clark / Gentty)
A strategist familiar with the thinking of campaigns in Colorado and Michigan believes that some Democrats can take advantage of the apparent similarity to the prominent Mamdani in the short election.
“I think – at least in crowded primaries – a lot of people think they need to go head-to-head,” the strategist said. “It is riding on the foundation. The foundation sees Mamdani as the new face of the group. They finally have someone.”
“I don’t think it will help in the general election,” they added.
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Bomar, the RNC spokesperson, said that if many Democrats decide to rely on that link, Republicans will be waiting.
“The American people don’t want to be part of society and Mamdani will ultimately sink the chances of democracy in the whole country,” said Bomor.
