Category: Politics

President Donald Trump is delaying his endorsement in the Texas Senate GOP primary to ramp up pressure on Republican senators to pass his high-priority voting restrictions bill, according to two people close to the White House granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Trump had been prepared to quickly endorse John Cornyn after the Texas senator outperformed expectations and finished ahead of Paxton, Texas’ attorney general, in last week’s primary, the people said. But Paxton managed to at least forestall that outcome when he announced Friday that if the Senate passes the bill he would drop his campaign.

Paxton’s last-ditch gamble highlighted an area where he agrees with Trump while poking at a sore spot between the president and Senate Republican leaders who have been begging Trump for months to back Cornyn. And it changed the dynamics inside the White House, according to the two people, an operative close to the White House and an administration ally.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

“I think that was a very smart strategy because it bought time. Because now, if you’re the White House or Trump, why would you now weigh in?’’ said the Republican operative. “Trump has remained very steadfast that he wants this done, and that is a huge priority, and he’s getting pissed off at these members and at [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune.”

Trump posted last Wednesday, the day after the primary, that he would endorse “soon” in the race — and wanted to see whoever he didn’t back drop out of the runoff.

He told House Republicans Monday in a speech at their annual legislative retreat in Florida that SAVE America is his “No. 1 priority” on the congressional agenda this year

Paxton, a favorite of the far right with strong MAGA grassroots backing, initially said he would not end his campaign even if Trump backed Cornyn. Trump responded in an interview with POLITICO last week that the comment was “bad for him to say,” and reiterated he would announce his pick soon.

But Paxton soon came up with an offer: He would step aside if the Senate moved the voting restrictions bill that passed the House but has stalled in the Senate. Republicans lack the necessary 60 votes to break the filibuster to pass the bill and don’t have the bare majority needed to alter Senate rules. Cornyn has long been one of the Republicans who hasn’t supported ending the filibuster but has said he backs the SAVE America Act.

Paxton’s gambit caught the attention of the president, who on Monday declared the SAVE America Act should be the GOP’s “No. 1 priority” during a speech to House Republicans in which he dedicated 13 minutes to the issue.

The president also was irritated when news articles from Axios and The Atlantic published Wednesday declaring that Trump was “expected” to endorse Cornyn, according to the Republican operative. A POLITICO story stated earlier that morning that Trump would likely endorse soon, with a source predicting he wouldn’t back Paxton. Trump and others in his orbit hate when stories get out ahead of official announcements.

The move paid off for Paxton by giving his allies more time to voice their displeasure to the White House at the possibility that Trump would be swayed by pro-Cornyn establishment Republicans in Washington.

That pressure campaign has ramped up in recent days since reports surfaced Trump was close to backing Cornyn. The administration ally said Paxton’s allies are mounting a “big counter-offensive.”

Those pushing against a Cornyn endorsement include Texas donors, according to a Paxton campaign aide.

“The grassroots donor community in Texas did not believe or realize how close Trump was endorsing Cornyn,” said a Paxton campaign aide, granted anonymity in order to speak freely. “Once they realized that the threat was real, they went very hard in the paint.”

A Cornyn campaign aide declined to comment.

While donors work the White House behind the scenes, Paxton also has allies making their case online like conservative influencers Laura Loomer, Jack Posobiec and Caroline Wren, who have blasted Cornyn and touted Paxton. They have warned that a Trump endorsement for Cornyn would mark a betrayal to the MAGA base.

“The Republican establishment is just as guilty as controlled opposition in the destruction of this republic, and exhibit one is John Cornyn,” Steve Bannon, longtime MAGA whisperer, said on Monday on his latest War Room podcast.

Cornyn and his allies have scrambled to respond. On Saturday, Cornyn posted on X, while tagging Trump’s account, that he had supported the SAVE America Act “from day one.” Cornyn declared he “will happily support the ‘talking filibuster’ if that’s what it takes to pass this into law” — a shift from the skepticism he voiced about the feasibility of the talking filibuster just a few weeks ago. He got backup from other Republicans — including from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a MAGA ally who is leading the charge for the bill in the Senate, who vouched for Cornyn’s support.

But on Monday, Thune poured cold water on Trump’s hopes once again, stating that formally nuking the legislative filibuster is “not going to happen” and arguing that a talking filibuster without forcing through a rules change is “way more complicated” than people realize.

Cornyn’s supporters believe he still remains in a strong position to receive the president’s backing, especially since Democrats nominated state Rep. James Talarico, a pick that even Republicans say is a formidable general election candidate. Many national Republicans say putting forward Paxton would be an expensive endeavor that would risk the seat and could cost them the Senate, as his past ethics issues and personal scandals make him a vulnerable candidate.

​Politics

CHICAGO — An AI-enhanced former congressman is hitting the Chicago airwaves.

As he campaigns to reclaim the South Side congressional seat he once held, Jesse Jackson Jr. is launching a new TV and digital ad featuring an endorsement from fellow former Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush — delivered with an assist from artificial intelligence.

The spot, set to begin airing today in the race, initially shows Rush speaking in his actual voice, weakened from a battle with throat cancer.

“Cancer damaged my vocal cords. It didn’t take away my voice,” Rush says in the ad.

He then continues speaking in a restored version of the voice he had decades ago.

“I want to tell you why I believe in Jesse Jackson Jr.,” says Rush, the longtime Chicago congressman who pushed Jackson to reclaim the 2nd Congressional District seat, using the enhanced voice to deliver a testimonial about Jackson’s record.

Rush, who has become familiar with AI technology’s ability to restore his voice for podcasting and broadcast interviews, said he recognizes there are concerns that it can be misused in political campaigns. But in this case, he said in an interview, “It’s being used in a positive way. It’s being used for the right reasons.”

The ad from Jackson’s campaign comes as two dueling political action committees with links to major AI companies circle the race.

Jackson is receiving support from a pro-industry super PAC, Leading the Future, which has poured money into advertising on his behalf and counts venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman among its backers.

A spokesperson for Jackson’s campaign said the ad with Rush had been in the works for months, before the AI-backed group got involved in the race.

“Integration of AI in this spot puts a spotlight on how much they believe in each other,” according to spokesperson John Digles.

A rival super PAC, Jobs and Democracy, which advocates for tougher regulations on AI, filed federal paperwork Friday signaling that it plans to begin $1 million advertising against Jackson.

The timing of that group’s filing raised eyebrows among some Democrats because it came the same day Jackson joined family members, three former presidents and thousands of others for a memorial service honoring his late father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who was buried Saturday.

The Congressional Black Caucus, some of whose members were in Chicago for the funeral services, criticized the super PAC’s move to announce its campaign as the family mourned.

By Sunday, a new filing was out indicating the super PAC was canceling the spending.

The 1st Congressional District seat Rush held for three decades until 2023 is now held by Jackson’s brother Jonathan Jackson. Rush encouraged Jesse Jackson Jr. to seek office again after stepping down in 2012 due to health reasons and then facing charges of campaign finance violations that resulted in him serving prison time.

Jackson is competing in a crowded field in the March 17 Democratic primary alongside Donna Miller, a county commissioner, and state Sens. Robert Peters and Willie Preston, among other candidates. The winner is widely expected to have a strong advantage in November in the predominantly Democratic district.

​Politics

Democrats see a new opportunity brewing deep in the heart of Texas, where Republicans solving one problem may have inadvertently created a new one.

Rep. Tony Gonzales’ decision to drop his reelection bid over an infidelity scandal has elevated Brandon Herrera, a controversial social media figure known by his handle “TheAKGuy,” to the Republican nomination for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District.

Democrats in the district are hoping the convergence of scandal, a lightning-rod GOP candidate, signs of a major snap-back by Latino voters in Texas, and a potentially competitive Senate race could help lift Democratic turnout enough to flip this district for the first time in a decade.

“It’s definitely more competitive than it’s ever been,” said former Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Texas), who held the seat through 2014.

The biggest reason the race might become competitive is Herrera himself. The YouTuber, gun manufacturer and Second Amendment activist has millions of online followers — and a track record of off-color, edgelord jokes that are ripe fodder for campaign ads. Herrera has come under fire for a long history of posting Nazi imagery and his involvement in a group called Sons of Confederate Veterans. Jokes like his line “I often think about putting a gun in my mouth. So, I’m basically an honorary veteran” were a flashpoint for criticism in his 2024 primary against Gonzales.

Herrera did not respond to a request for comment.

After Gonzales dropped out of the race on Thursday night, the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC quickly pumped out a barrage of old clips of Herrera on a series of podcasts including one where is seen marching and firing a gun overlaid with the German song “Erika” associated with Nazi Germany.

National and local headwinds are also blowing against the GOP.

Republicans in Texas – usually the dominating force in statewide politics – have weathered a rocky start to the 2026 midterms. Sen. John Cornyn, a fixture of Lone Star conservative politics, is stuck in a bruising runoff election with MAGA firebrand Attorney General Ken Paxton, opening a possible path for Democrats to compete in the Senate race. And Latino voters turned out in massive numbers in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries, an early sign that Texas Hispanics, after moving hard to the right in recent years, might be swinging back in a big way this election.

There’s no guarantee that national Democrats will invest in the sprawling district, however.

The heavily Hispanic district, which runs from suburban San Antonio hundreds of miles along the border to outside El Paso, is a tough lift for Democrats — but not an impossible one. In the newly gerrymandered Texas map, it’s the least-red district held by a Republican in Texas. President Donald Trump won it by 17 points in 2024, but Hillary Clinton narrowly carried the district in 2016.

At this early stage in the changed race, neither the House Democratic campaign arm nor its biggest aligned super PAC has yet to publicly announce a commitment of resources to flipping the seat.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee does not currently list the district as an offensive target but is closely monitoring the race, according to a person familiar with national Democrats’ House strategy, granted anonymity to candidly describe strategy. The group gleefully highlighted Herrera’s elevation in a statement on Friday.

A spokesperson for the House Majority PAC, CJ Warnke, said in a statement that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to spending in the district.

Herrera was already running a tough primary campaign against Gonzales — but the congressman’s recent scandal consumed his campaign and forced him from his reelection bid. Text messages published by the San Antonio Express-News and other outlets last month revealed new evidence of a sexual relationship between the member of Congress and a staffer, who later killed herself. POLITICO has not independently reviewed the messages.

Gonzales later admitted to the affair with his former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, and late Thursday decided to end his reelection bid as pressure mounted from Republicans leadership for him to step aside.

Democrats argue Herrera has his own baggage that may be hard to overcome as well.

“Maybe I’m just an old-fashioned East Texas farm kid, but I tend to be anti-Nazi, and I have a feeling that people on the western side of the state feel a similar way,” said Kendall Scudder, chair of the Texas Democratic Party.

“So, you know, go ahead and nominate the adulterer, sexual predator, or nominate the actual Nazi. Regardless, we outvoted them, and we’re going to do it again in November,” he added, citing Tuesday’s strong Democratic turn out in primaries up and down the ballot.

Herrera as the GOP nominee makes for “a little bit of an easier campaign because he’s not as well known as Gonzales,” said Katy Padilla Stout, a local attorney and the Democratic nominee who is now set to face off against Herrera in November.

National Republicans were quick to throw cold water on their opponents’ hopes to expand their battleground House map into West Texas.

“Texas’ 23rd District is deep red, and Democrats know it,” said Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.

“While they talk a big game in Washington, they don’t even have a credible recruit and are too busy defending their own vulnerable members across Texas to compete here.”

The district, though drawn to favor the GOP candidate, is “pretty moderate and they’re practical people,” said Gallego, the former Democratic member of Congress. The north side of San Antonio at the far east end of the district map “is not monolithic Republican anymore,” he added, which gives Democrats more room to maneuver around Herrera, a conservative hardliner.

After Gonzales ended his bid, “I thought for sure it would be the Dems that would be blowing me up,” said Padilla Stout. Instead, she recounted, it was mostly Republicans who got in touch shortly after the news broke.

Their message to her: “We’re ready, give me a sign. Where do I sign up?”

​Politics

CHICAGO — From former presidents to an NBA Hall of Famer to prominent church pastors, stories of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s influence on politics, corporate boardrooms and picket lines loomed large Friday at a celebration honoring the late civil rights leader.

Thousands of people gathered at a church on Chicago’s South Side to pay a final public tribute to Jackson.

Barack Obama said Jackson’s presidential runs in the 1980s set the stage for other Black leaders, including his own successful 2009 presidency and re-election.

“The message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that maybe there wasn’t any place or any room where we didn’t belong,” Obama said. “He paved the road for so many others to follow.”

Obama, joined by two other former Democratic presidents, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, at a celebration of life for Jackson, received the loudest round of applause as the three entered the chamber.

“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope,” Obama said. “Each day we wake up to some new assault to our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible.”

“Each day we are told by folks in high office to fear each other,” said Obama, referring to the current Republican leadership in Washington.

Clinton said Jackson made him a better president. “He knew change came from the inside out,” Clinton said.

Former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke Friday.

President Donald Trump, who praised Jackson on social media after he died and also shared photos of the two of them together, was not attending the service, according to his public schedule issued by the White House.

Thousands attend Jackson memorial service

The event honors the protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate and follows memorial services that drew large crowds in Chicago and South Carolina, where Jackson was born. Friday’s celebration — at an influential Black church with a 10,000-seat arena — is expected to be the largest.

Crowds of attendees waited in long lines outside the church on the city’s South Side as television screens played excerpts of some of Jackson’s most famous speeches. Inside, vendors sold pins with his 1984 presidential slogan and hoodies with his “I Am Somebody” mantra.

Along with a slew of Illinois elected leaders, notable attendees included actor and producer Tyler Perry, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and political activist and theologian Cornel West. NBA Hall of Famer and Chicago native Isiah Thomas was one of the speakers.

Marketing professional Chelsia Bryan said Friday that she decided to attend the memorial service because it was “a chance to be part of something historic.”

“As a Black woman, knowing that someone pretty much gave their life, dedicated their life to make sure I can do the things that I can do now, he’s worth honoring,” Bryan said.

Jackson Jr.: Everyone welcome

Jesse Jackson Jr. said all were welcome to celebrate his father’s life.

“Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, right wing, left wing because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American,” Jackson Jr. said last month. “Dad would have wanted us to have a great meeting to discuss our differences, to find ways of moving forward and moving together.”

The elder Jackson died last month at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak. Family members say he continued coming into the office until last year and communicated through hand signals. His final public appearances included the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Sitting in the crowd was 90-year-old Mary Lovett. She said Jackson’s advocacy inspired her many times, from when she moved from Mississippi to Chicago in the 1960s, taught elementary school and became a mom. She twice voted for Jackson during both of his presidential runs and appreciated how he always spoke up for underrepresented people. “He’s gone, but I hope his legacy lives,” she said. “I hope we can remember what he tried to teach us.”

Jackson’s service was to the poor, underrepresented

Jackson’s pursuits were countless, taking him to all corners of the globe: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, health care, job opportunities and education. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

His son, Yusef Jackson, who runs the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, recalled how his father carried a well-worn Bible but also showed his faith by showing up to picket lines.

“He lived a revolutionary Christian faith rooted in justice, nonviolence and the moral righteousness,” Yusef Jackson said Friday. “He was deeply involved in the political struggles of his time, but his gift was that he could rise above them. It’s not about the left wing or the right wing. It takes two wings to fly. For him, the goal was always the moral center.”

Jackson’s services in Chicago and South Carolina drew civic leaders, school groups and everyday people who said they were touched by Jackson’s work, from scholarship programs to advocating for inmates. Several states flew flags at half-staff in his honor.

Services in Washington, D.C., were tabled after a request to allow Jackson to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotunda was denied by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said the space is typically reserved for select officials, including former presidents. Details on a future event have not been made public.

​Politics

It didn’t take long for Democrats’ hopes of flipping Texas to dim.

Enthusiasm remains high for the party’s Senate nominee, James Talarico, but national Democrats aren’t sure how far they should go to support him — particularly if Sen. John Cornyn emerges from the GOP runoff in May. Interviews with nearly a dozen high-dollar donor advisers and strategists poured cold water on the likelihood that the party would fully commit to the staggering price tag it’d take to finally flip Texas.

“No one’s taking Texas seriously,” said a Democratic bundler who, like most others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about intra-party dynamics.

Among their concerns is that Cornyn did better than expected in the GOP primary against Attorney General Ken Paxton, and with President Donald Trump’s potential endorsement would be able to ease his runoff victory. Democrats planning for Talarico to compete against Paxton, a scandal-ridden MAGA darling, are instead facing the prospect of trying to oust a 24-year moderate incumbent in a state that hasn’t voted for a Senate Democrat in nearly four decades.

There are also competing priorities for national spending — just Wednesday evening, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) dropped his re-election bid in a state Senate Democrats held as recently as 2018 — potentially elevating it as a target for spending.

Underlying it all, Democrats said, is the reality that contesting Texas would require a massive injection of cash — while there are other, cheaper options on the Senate landscape.

“We have to be practical about how we use our resources,” said Alex Hoffman, a Democratic donor adviser. “You need a perfect storm to kill a white whale, and if it’s going to be Cornyn [in the general election], then it’s not a perfect storm.”

Democrats have long dreamed of turning Texas blue. But the idea of flipping the state — much less retaking the Senate overall — appeared laughable last year, when the party hit new lows in its public polling and sustained sweeping losses in 2024. But a string of overperformances in off-year and special election races, combined with Trump’s own stubbornly low approval rating, have Democrats increasingly bullish about their chances.

“If I’m being super honest, Texas would not be within the reach of our boat here, as fishermen of the white whale, but for the wave moment we’re in,” said Tory Gavito, a Democratic donor who leads the progressive donor network Way To Win.

Tuesday’s results gave them another boost when Talarico, a social media star and prolific grassroots fundraiser, easily dispatched Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). He now has a head start on Republicans, who after already dropping $70 million to lift Cornyn, must continue battling it out for another two and a half months through a runoff — which some are predicting could cost upwards of $100 million.

Texas Democrats see this as the moment to strike. Gavito said Democrats have built to this moment, cycle after cycle. Back in 2014, when President Barack Obama won with a young, multi-racial coalition, Democrats believed it was just a matter of time before they’d eventually flip Texas, a youthful, diverse state.

But Trump, both in 2016 and 2024, whittled down Democrats’ advantages with young, diverse voters, suggesting Texas was further out of reach than they thought. Then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), boosted by more than $80 million, came the closest in 2018, losing to Sen. Ted Cruz by 2.6 percentage points. When former-Rep. Colin Allred tried to oust Cruz in 2024, he lost by 8.5 points.

Gavito said it would be “important” for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority PAC, Democrats’ top Senate super PAC, to invest in Texas to actually flip it because even though “Talarico has proven he can raise a bunch of non-corporate money … leadership, like Schumer, should see that their job is to be bullish.”

She also argued against Democrats having to pick between investing in Texas or other states — “you can do both things,” she said.

That’s a tall ask in a cycle when Democrats are already struggling mightily in the money race.

House and Senate Republicans entered 2026 with more than double the cash equivalent of their Democratic counterparts. The Republican National Committee has a more than $100 million cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee. Should the Supreme Court lift coordination limits, a looming decision cited by several donor advisers, then they believe Republicans will have an even more lopsided advantage.

“If the goal is to win the House and Senate, then there are other, cheaper, more competitive places,” said a Democratic consultant who works on Senate races. “Do you want to try to get another $150 million for Texas or another $50 million to put Iowa or Montana or Nebraska in play? That’s the Schumer calculation.”

Before Tuesday’s primary, Schumer hadn’t placed Texas in the DSCC’s top tier of battleground races. Instead, North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska ranked highest in his list of offensive targets. That could change, however, should Paxton ultimately emerge from the runoff.

“If Paxton wins the runoff, the race is on the battleground list,” a person familiar with the DSCC’s thinking said, granted anonymity to describe private conversations. “If Cornyn makes it out, I wouldn’t count it out [either].”

When asked about Texas on Wednesday, Schumer said “Tuesday’s results in Texas are a step forward in our quest to win the Senate,” and called Talarico “a great candidate, and we can win.”

SMP spokesperson Lauren French reiterated that “the majority runs through Ohio, Maine, Iowa, Alaska, and North Carolina … but it can also run through Texas.”

Republicans, for their part, continue to scoff at the idea Texas is competitive. In a statement, NRSC Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell said: “James Talarico thinks ‘God is nonbinary,’ wants to lay a welcome mat on our southern border, and would prioritize the rights of our ‘trans community’, all things Texans will never vote for in November.”

Even if Democrats can’t ultimately flip Texas in November, they believe Talarico’s campaign — and a potentially weakened Cornyn — will force the GOP to spend cash to defend it, turning it into “a money sinkhole for Republicans,” said Cooper Teboe, a Democratic donor adviser and strategist.

“Do we win Ohio by one [percentage point] because of this?” Teboe added.

Some Republican strategists are warning of the possibility.

“In every race, from this point until November, there’s going to be the Texas undertones: You spent $70 million there to protect an incumbent,” a GOP strategist said, granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly. “I think there is some frustration amongst the consulting class of like, all right, can we focus on Georgia and Michigan, some of these other places a little bit more?”

Erin Doherty contributed to this report. 

​Politics

NEW YORK — Morris Katz, a top adviser to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, quietly traveled to the United Kingdom last month to meet with local progressive politicians hoping to learn tools of the trade from the young strategist.

Katz’s trip coincided with the rise of a new left-wing challenge to the embattled Labour government from the Green Party, which snatched away a Manchester-area parliamentary seat in a February special election.

One of the architects of Mamdani’s stunning election last year, Katz confirmed to POLITICO that he had ventured into British politics and described it as part of a global political struggle. He said he was there to offer members of the U.K.’s Labour and Green parties advice on mounting effective campaigns for elected office.

“The fight against the aligned interests of the oligarchy and the far right is an international one, and I’ll try to be helpful wherever I can,” the 26-year-old progressive political strategist said this week when asked about his February trip.

Among the players Katz met with: Rosie Wrighting and Gordon McKee, two Labour members of Parliament, and Rowenna Davis, a Labour politician running for mayor of Croydon, a town in South London. Katz confirmed Labour and Green operatives initiated contact and asked him to come over for the meetings.

Mamdani has emerged as something of a political beacon for progressive parties in other countries, including the U.K. and Canada.

The British left’s overture to Katz highlights how progressive movements around the world are looking at the Mamdani campaign’s populist playbook as ripe for replication. And it speaks to how elements of the American left increasingly see themselves as part of a global project.

Katz said he has continued to hold virtual meetings with members of both parties since returning stateside and plans to speak with Green leadership in the coming weeks.

The in-person sit-downs in the U.K., Katz said, revolved around his strategy and messaging techniques, with the U.K. politicians seeking to glean more insight into his overall approach. The Mamdani aide has become known for producing made-to-go-viral social media content highlighting progressive policy prescriptions for bread-and-butter issues like childcare costs.

Katz said his engagements in the U.K. were unpaid and that he’s not looking to start running campaigns across the pond this year, in part because he’s busy with the U.S. congressional midterms. But he expressed openness to working with progressives there on a paid basis in the future, opening the door to a key Mamdani adviser becoming an international political fixer.

Katz wouldn’t be the first U.S. progressive to help like-minded British politicians. Advisers to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) helped former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s unsuccessful 2017 campaign for prime minister.

Drawing connections across different countries’ politics can be complicated, and while Mamdani’s high-octane style of campaigning can generate excitement in places other than New York, it’s not clear that everyone he met with on his travels overseas buys into his ideological project. Wrighting and McKee are prolific on social media platforms like TikTok, much like the New York City executive, but are mainstream Labour backbenchers.

Spokespeople for the Green and Labour parties did not return requests for comment about the meetings with Katz.

The Labour Party lost a key parliamentary election last week after the Greens, a much smaller party, ran a 34-year-old candidate who focused her campaign on tackling a spiraling cost-of-living crisis. The candidate, 34-year-old former plumber Hannah Spencer, has argued since her victory that it’s a winning message for the Green Party to continue emphasizing.

“We ran a hopeful campaign backed by thousands of volunteers and activists. We defeated the parties of billionaire donors,” Spencer wrote in an op-ed in The Guardian last week.

Sound familiar?

Mamdani defeated Andrew Cuomo, New York’s former governor, in last summer’s mayoral primary after aggressively centering his campaign around proposals aimed at making the city more affordable for working class New Yorkers.

The U.K.’s left-leaning parties, especially Labour following last month’s election setback, likely see Mamdani’s messaging model as something they can harness in future campaigns. That’s where Katz comes in.

Katz, who calls himself a populist politics “believer,” has been credited with spearheading the Mamdani campaign’s laser focus on promising to fight for a more affordable city by raising taxes on the rich to expand social safety nets, including making public transit and child care programs free. Though he hasn’t joined Mamdani’s administration, Katz is seen as very close with the mayor and continues to advise him on both governmental and political matters, joining him, for instance, for both of his high-profile meetings with President Donald Trump.

“The Brits can use some excitement in their politics,” Doug Muzzio, a longtime political scientist in New York who is not affiliated with Mamdani or his team, said when asked to opine on Katz’s U.K. moves. “So if Mamdani’s engaging style is something that can be replicated over there that would probably be very welcome.”

It isn’t unusual for campaign consultants to embark on a traveling road show abroad after successful domestic stints. Political advice is among the most American of exports: Chris LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign manager, advised Sali Berisha of Albania’s opposition party after his 2024 White House run. Bob Shrum, the former Democratic presidential candidate adviser and speechwriter, advised Ehud Barak in Israel’s 1999 election for prime minister and the British Labour Party under former Prime Minister Tony Blair. And James Carville, the veteran political strategist, also advised Blair, along with having done work in more than 20 countries.

“A guy gets elected and they like you, and somebody calls: ‘Hey, somebody from such and such called us,’ and they’ll recommend people. I mean, it’s a kind of networking thing,” Carville said. “The perception is our political consultants are better than they actually are.”

But Katz’s adventures abroad likely say more about his principal than the consultant. Of Mamdani, Carville says: “He’s an object of curiosity.” In the same way that former President Bill Clinton’s popularity abroad juiced Carville’s prospects, Mamdani and his retinue are drawing longing glances from international compatriots.

“A lot of people hired me just to say we got Clinton’s guy,” Carville said.

And now more than ever, an appetite for progressive insights is sweeping Europe: Just last month, organizers of the Munich Security Conference hosted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who in her remarks connected income inequality to the global rise of authoritarianism.

“Voters in democracies in Europe and elsewhere are responding to a lot of the same things that American voters are,” said Matt Duss, who advised Ocasio-Cortez on her Munich trip and is executive vice president at the progressive think tank Center for International Policy. “That’s a system of government that has not delivered for them, that they see as captured by special interests that are not responsive to their needs.”

Duss, who also previously served as foreign policy adviser to Bernie Sanders, said there is a global appetite for that brand of progressivism.

“I do think Bernie obviously has inspired a lot of colleagues in other democracies. Mamdani is a name that we hear a lot from our colleagues in Europe on the left,” Duss said. “People are watching and learning from each other. American progressives have things to learn as our colleagues in Europe innovate and vice versa.”

Going international is not without risks.

Witness, for example, Ocasio-Cortez’s reception in Munich, on-camera and widely clipped miscues on everything from mislabeling the Trans-Atlantic partnership the Trans-Pacific Partnership to suggesting Venezuela was below not above the Equator. (On the ground, leaders’ embrace of her was warmer than the social media maw.)

Were Katz to get officially involved in the U.S., he may not go at it alone. He is the co-founder of Fight Agency, a consulting firm made up of a number of veterans of the American progressive movement who could also get roped into working with him overseas. Among them: Rebecca Katz, an alum of former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration who has managed a number of successful congressional campaigns in recent years.

Rebecca Katz, who is not related to Morris Katz, did not comment for this story.

Domestically, Morris Katz’s travels abroad posed some obstacles for a candidate in his stable.

“It was very hard to communicate with him and his team during the January, February timeframe, because he was over there,” said Nathan Sage, the former Iowa Senate candidate and Katz client who dropped out of the race in mid-February. “I have no idea what he’s doing. I have no idea what that is, but I do know that it was difficult.”

Despite that, Sage said he would recommend Katz’s firm to others.

John Johnston contributed to this report.

​Politics

War, Trump and Washington’s Gridlock | Sen. Katie Britt

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​Politics