Progressives warn Democrats against alienating the left and blast Schumer's Senate leadership

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Democrats savor their Election Day victories, some are capitalizing on the victory of New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani and calling out party leaders for snubbing progressives, warning that alienating the left could cost them crucial House seats needed to take control and counter President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Democrats gathered for a conference hosted by progressives were sneering at Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who was not present, for shutting down popular new faces based on disagreements over specific issues.

“There are no people, I think right now, who have a worse read on what electable means and less of a pulse on voters than the Democratic establishment,” said Morris Katz, who managed Mamdani’s campaign. He was then asked if anyone cared that Schumer did not endorse in the New York City mayoral race.

“Who?” Katz said, feigning familiarity with the leader's influence and drawing laughs from the audience.

The discussions and jeers at the event Crooked Con, put together by a progressive media company founded by three former President Barack Obama aides, are coming days after Democrats secured wins in the swing states of Georgia, Pennsylvania and Virginia, with signs that key voting groups, including young people, Black voters and Hispanics were shifting away from Republicans. Other victories on Tuesday included Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, center-left Democrats who won gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.

Some attendants used the time to reflect on those victories and said they have to redefine their vision to energize voters to turn out to vote.

“There’s just a lot of fear around progressive policies that’s misunderstood,” said U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona Democrat. “But when it’s actually articulated to people, you will see that even on the right, it’s more of a populist agenda that a lot of people actually are behind.”

Progressives and other elected Democrats, strategists, campaign managers, and liberal commentators gathered and agreed that focusing on affordability and rejecting Trump’s economic agenda was key to the party's success on Tuesday. Some credited Trump’s 2024 campaigning for ideas like “no tax on tips” and saying they could learn from Republicans to stand strongly by their candidates. They urged Democrats not to overanalyze things and to take risks.

Former President Barack Obama urged Democrats “not to impose litmus tests” when talking about the different factions that won on Tuesday. He launched his presidential bid in 2007 with a progressive platform focused on health care and climate change.

“They are part of a vision for the future. Our job is to say that we want everybody engaged, and we want to have a conversation about how to make sure that every person in this country is treated with dignity and respect,” Obama said.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, who endorsed Mamdani last month, said he had no advice for Mamdani, “other than to keep doing what he’s doing.”

“He’s inspired people throughout New York,” Martin said, adding that he is cheering him on and “making sure that all of us are helping to contribute to his success.”

Schumer did not endorse Mamdani. Katz, Mamdani’s campaign manager, said there were private discussions between the two.

Mamdani’s comfortable victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary excited progressives, but worried the party establishment. Some Democrats have been critical of Mamdani because of his stance on Israel. A longtime advocate of Palestinian rights, Mamdani has accused Israel of committing genocide.

Party leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, eventually endorsed the self-described democratic socialist months after he won the nomination.

Some Democrats mentioned as 2028 presidential hopefuls appeared frustrated with the discussion on the divisions facing the party and said that voters are not ultrafocused on that, and that Republicans don’t really bother with that.

U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego described it as “internal pearl clutching” that is not happening on the Republican side, and said Democrats “don’t have to agree on everything.”

Gallego said the normal voters don’t think that way.

“They think, ‘Is this person going to fight for me? Does this person understand what I’m going through? Do I trust them?’” he said. “Instead of trying to focus on this tribalism in our party, we should be figuring out how to do those three things right.”

Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., is interviewed while attending Crooked Con, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democratic National Chairman Ken Martin attends Crooked Con, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D- Ariz., front, is greeted by attendees of Crooked Con after he spoke, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Panelists, from left, Jon Lovett, of "Pod Save America," Jessica Tarlov, co-host of Fox News' "The Five," Tim Miller, of "The Bulwark Podcast," Hasan Piker, streamer and political commentator, and Symone Sanders Townsend, co-host of MSNBC's "The Weeknight," speak during Crooked Con , Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Micaela Mejia Pond, right, and other attendees of Crooked Con, cheer while listening to Sen. Ruben Gallego, D- Ariz., speak, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Voting was underway on Sunday in Myanmar in the final round of a three-stage general election, capping a nearly monthlong process that has already ensured the country’s military rulers and their allies will command a parliamentary majority to form a new government.

Critics say the polls are neither free nor fair, and are designed to legitimize the power of the military after it ousted the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

The army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP, has already won most of the seats contested in the first two rounds of voting. Twenty-five percent of the seats in the upper and lower houses of the national Parliament are reserved for the military, guaranteeing it and its allies control of the legislature.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the current military government, is widely expected by both supporters and opponents to assume the presidency when the new Parliament meets.

The army's 2021 takeover triggered widespread opposition that dragged Myanmar into a civil war. Security concerns engendered by the fighting meant voting was not held in more than one-fifth of the country’s 330 townships, another reason the process has been described as neither free nor fair.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan on Tuesday said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, did not send observers and would not certify the election, citing concerns over the lack of inclusive and free participation.

Min Aung Hlaing pushed back against critics of the polls on Sunday, declaring that “the people who live in Myanmar are the ones who vote. Not those from outside."

“We are not concerned whether this is recognized by foreign countries or not. We recognize the people’s vote. It should be like that,” he told journalists after inspecting a polling station in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.

Asked if he intended to take part in the new government, he declined to comment, noting the president would be selected when Parliament meets.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls. She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won landslide victories in the 2020 and 2015 elections, but was forced to dissolve in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, while opposition groups called for a voter boycott.

A new Election Protection Law imposed harsh penalties for most public criticism of the polls, with the authorities charging more than 400 people recently for activities such as leafleting or online activity.

The previous two rounds of voting were disrupted by armed groups opposed to military rule carrying out attacks on polling stations and government buildings in several townships, killing at least two administrative officials, according to the military government.

Voting on Sunday began at 6 a.m. in 61 townships across six regions and three states, including many areas that have seen clashes in recent months.

At the polling station in Dagon township in Yangon, the country’s largest city, 86-year-old Soe Tint said he cast his ballot because he wants the country to be peaceful and develop “in all sectors, including education.”

At the same station, Lae Lae Yi, 62, was less hopeful.

“I’m not expecting anything at all, because there is no motivation,” she said.

The election is being held in three phases due to the armed conflict. The first two rounds took place on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11 in 202 of the country’s 330 townships. A total of 67 townships – mostly areas controlled by armed opposing groups – did not participate, reducing the original seats in the 664-member national parliament to 586.

Final results for all parliament seats are expected to be announced later this week. The military government has announced that Parliament will be convened in March, and the new government will take up its duties in April.

The party with a majority in the combined upper and lower houses of Parliament can select the new president, who in turn names a Cabinet and forms a new government.

More than 4,800 candidates from 57 political parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, though only six are contesting nationwide. Seventeen other parties aside from the USDP have won a small number of seats in the legislature, ranging from one to 10.

The military government said there are more than 24 million eligible voters, about 35% fewer than in 2020. The turnout in the first two rounds of voting was between 50% and 60%, it announced.

Peck reported from Bangkok.

Ko Ko Gyi, chairman of the People's Party and leader of Myanmar's 1988 pro-democracy uprising, talks to journalists after casting his ballot at a polling station during the final round of general election Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Voters line up to cast ballots at a polling station during the final round of general election Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A official of the Union Election Commission prepares a voting booth at a polling station, one day ahead of the third phase of the general election, in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the third phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

An official of the Union Election Commission sets up an electronic voting machine at a polling station, one day ahead of the third phase of the general election, in Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

An official of the Union Election Commission announces the open of a polling station during the third phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

A voter holds up her finger marked with ink indicating she voted at a polling station during the third phase of general election in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)