Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville is now reportedly calling for a split within the Democratic Party after three candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won Democratic congressional primaries in New York this week.
The victories came Tuesday, when three Mamdani-endorsed candidates secured their party’s nominations for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated Rep. Dan Goldman to win the Democratic nomination in the 10th Congressional District. Union organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier unseated Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District. In the 7th District, state Rep. Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
Because all three districts are considered solidly Democratic, the primary winners are expected to prevail in the general election.
The results sparked a strong reaction from Carville during Wednesday’s episode of the Politicon podcast, where the longtime Democratic strategist expressed frustration with the direction he believes parts of the party are taking.
Carville specifically pointed to comments previously made by Avila Chevalier, who was born to Dominican immigrants, noting that she once said white people should not be in interracial marriages.
Responding to those remarks, Carville declared that he no longer considers himself to be in the same political party.
“Lady, I ain’t in the same party as you,” Carville said. “I’m sorry. I’m just not.”
The longtime strategist then argued that Democrats should begin discussing what he described as a “schism” within the party.
“I actually do think it’s time for Democrats to talk the ‘s’ word: schism,” Carville said.
For years, Democrats have described themselves as a broad coalition with room for a wide range of political viewpoints. Carville, however, suggested that approach has reached its limit.
“Everybody’s always said, ‘No, no. We’re a coalition. We’re a big tent.’ And there’s just some sh*t I can’t be in the same tent with,” he said.
Carville went further by arguing that the victorious candidates should not be viewed as members of the Democratic Party despite their primary victories.
According to Carville, establishment Democrats should begin discussing the terms of a separation from democratic socialists rather than continuing to operate under the same political banner.
“But I’m done,” he said. “I’m not in that f*cking political party.”
Carville also drew a distinction between criticizing the Israeli government and questioning Israel’s existence.
He said he is comfortable belonging to a political party that spends time debating or questioning the policies of the Israeli government and added that he is “enthusiastic” about those discussions.
However, Carville said he does not want to be affiliated with a political party that denies Israel’s right to exist.
“I don’t want to be in a political party that denies the right of the state of Israel to exist,” he said. “That’s just not—I just can’t do that.”
Carville’s comments came just one day after the New York primary results elevated three Mamdani-backed candidates, prompting the veteran Democratic strategist to publicly question whether the party’s ideological divisions have grown too wide to remain under a single political umbrella.
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