Since finishing fifth of six candidates in New York State’s 65th Assembly District race, 26 points behind DSA-endorsed winner Illapa Sairitupac, Manhattan Democrats First Vice Chair Mariama James has been crashing out—directing a derogatory slur at an elected official, questioning election integrity in this and other elections, promoting fake news, and raising a question: What expectation of conduct comes with being a high level Democratic Party official?
State of the Left previously reported on Mariama James’ eyebrow-raising posts in the wake of her election loss.
James did not respond to SOTL’s earlier requests for comment, but did reply following the article’s publication on X, to cast doubt on the integrity of the election process: “My views are not affected by my loss bc that race went to someone who’s never done anything for the district and barely even campaigned or had anything on which to campaign. Ppl actually from the district know something shady is what lead to my loss.”
The full post:
James did not clarify what she meant by the phrase “something shady” in regards to her election loss, nor her attack on Sairitupac’s campaign.
Sairitupac’s campaign knocked 42,064 doors during the election, with contributions coming in from 209 in-district donors.
James has been assiduously spreading election denialism and conspiracies in New York, writing: “I saw a video of an AM radio news show here in NYC that said 7% of the ppl who voted in our election and voted for our current mayor do not exist and never existed. Another 6% according to this same show, had fake social security numbers.”
She further wrote that: “The ppl on the show said they were less there to prove Mamdani didn’t actually win and more so to prove that there’s a problem at NYS & NYC BOE but that Mamdani won by about 200K votes and they’ve already found 230K to be completely invalid and have another 1.9M to go through.”
James did not clarify which “show” she was referring to, and SOTL could not find any reputable reporting to back up her claims.
James’ baseless election denialism was reported last week in City & State’s Heard Around Town Newsletter. AFP Fact Check notes that much of the conservative furor around voter fraud in the election stemmed from clearly satirical Tiktoks riffing on the “6-7” meme.
Three Weeks on X with Mariama James
James’ election denialism is concerning, but fits with a pattern of amplifying obviously fake news and attacking those she has deemed her political enemies online.
In the last three weeks, she has:
Called Massachusetts Congressmember Ayanna Pressley, who endorsed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, the below derogatory slur.
Falsely claimed that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer withdrew her endorsement from US Congressmember Rashida Tlaib after Tlaib took foreign donations from pro-Palestine groups. Tlaib did not take foreign donations, and there are no records of Whitmer endorsing Tlaib in the first place, so an un-endorsement is not possible.
James’s post received around 740 reposts with 76k views. It was then used as a primary source in at least one internet forum to continue promoting the false claim.
Incorrectly doubled down on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s claim that Adolf Hitler was a “left wing socialist”, claiming that contemporary socialists are supporters of white supremacy. The full name of Adolf Hitler’s party was National Socialist German Workers’ Party—however, Hitler and the Nazi regime targeted socialists, social democrats, communists, and Jewish people, among numerous other groups. She continued arguing with people who tried to correct her on the matter.
Called DSA members incels with a “weird look.”
When asked by SOTL if she could describe what she meant by saying DSA members have a “weird look” and if she felt this language was appropriate, James did not respond for comment.
Stated that supporters of Zohran Mamdani and DSA members want to “go back to Jim Crow & Japanese ppl in internment camps” because of NYC Mayor Mamdani’s comments on restoring the Democratic Party to its New Deal, reform roots exemplified by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt and former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.
When asked by SOTL if she felt accusing Progressives and DSA members of wanting to return to Jim Crow or Japanese internment on the basis of Mamdani’s comments is at all in bad faith given that none of them have ever articulated support for that, James did not respond for comment. Reposted an X post stating the Democratic Party should distance itself from DSA and then “purge them.”
Compared Progressives to the Ku Klux Klan.
When asked by SOTL how she squares accusations of bigotry with overwhelmingly common Progressive platforms centering racial, social, economic, and political justice, James did not respond for comment. Following the victory of Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic Senate Primary, James broadened her content to outside of New York—calling El-Sayed’s victory “leaving the front door open to home invasion,” labelling Maryland US Senator Chris Van Hollen “a bigot,” and saying that young black people voting for El-Sayed is due to older black people “not educating their children on the anti-Blackness and the harm of ‘uncommitted.’”
James’s posts have routinely attracted a smattering of users either attempting to correct her numerous falsehoods or other users utilizing similarly heated rhetoric.
Manhattan Democratic Party Bylaws in the Event of Officer Vacancies
James’ online conduct is concerning in both volume and content. Given her position as Manhattan Democrats’ First Vice-Chair, the question is: is this behavior acceptable for someone who could well become Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party—or indeed, for any party official?
According to Article II, Section 4, sub-section c of the Manhattan Democratic Party by-laws, in the event of “the absence of the Chairperson,” the First Vice-Chair would “preside at meetings of the County Committee in order of their designation.”
While the bylaws address vacancies in District Leadership positions, they do not seem to explicitly address sudden vacancies in Executive Committee officer roles. This means it is not clear if the First Vice-Chair would automatically ascend to Acting Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party or how soon, if at all, a special election would need to be held to determine a successor. While practices vary from county to county across New York State in the event of a sudden vacancy, it is not at all uncommon for First Vice-Chairs to become Acting or Interim Party Chair.
The current Chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party is Keith Wright, 71. His son, Jordan Wright, is Chair of the Manhattan Young Democrats.
Manhattan Democratic Party Bylaws Ethics Subcommittee
According to Article VI, Section 1 of the by-laws, which function as a Statement of Principles under the ethics of the Manhattan Democrats, there is a broad expectation of inclusivity “The Democratic Party of the County of New York shall be inclusive of all persons, regardless of race, color, religion (creed) gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry) disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.”
In the event an ethics complaint was filed with the party against James, the by-laws state it would be up to an ethics panel appointed by the Party Chair to make a ruling. There is little precedent to go off how a Democratic Party ethics panel would rule on a party officer using a derogetory racial slur, spreading fake news, insulting how other people appear, promoting election skepticism, or any of the other rhetoric James has used.
According to Article VI, section 2, sub-section a of the bylaws, “Any member of the Democratic Party of the County of New York may submit to the Committee on Ethics a written complaint alleging a sepcific violation of these Rules and Regulations.”
The Manhattan Democratic Party has not responded to repeated inquiries from State of the Left on James’s controversial social media postings in the last month.
Editing Credit: River Shi
This crashout is insane
She’s been on this rant since last year’s mayoral race. I came in 2nd place and while I have my opinions on a lot of the local politics, I believe her dislike of the Mayor and publicly stating it in a very ugly way is unacceptable. She has even fought with me on the meaning of socialism. I think there’s a lot to be said about this. In her part of the district (where she serves as the district leader). Illapa crushed there by 3x the vote in comparison to her votes. Something like less than 600 for MJ to less than 1700 for IS. So I don’t know what her reference on the community knows something shady went on. Lastly, she is on the EC of County and her crash out is a reflection of our party. Something needs to be done and I will be sure to bring this up at the next county meeting. Thanks for sharing this article!