NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s slate of fiery progressives swept establishment-backed Democrats in the state’s congressional primaries on Tuesday, ousting two sitting congressmen in a resounding show of force for the democratic socialist leader of America’s largest city, who is fighting to reshape the Democratic Party in New York and beyond.
U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and is serving his fifth term, was defeated by Mamdani’s most polarizing pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, a two-term incumbent, was beaten by the Mamdani-backed former city Comptroller Brad Lander, a fixture among New York progressives who has often shown sympathy to the democratic socialist movement. And another Mamdani ally, democratic socialist state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, defeated the handpicked successor of retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Tuesday’s primaries represented a major political gamble for the 34-year-old mayor, whose strength is surging, and a potential headache for Democratic leaders, who fear that the Mamdani and his loyalists may push the party too far left ahead of November’s midterm elections — when voters across the nation will decide which party controls Congress for the last two years of Trump’s final term.
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The sweep also sends an undeniable message to establishment Democrats in Washington, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who campaigned against Mamdani’s candidates and lost. Mamdani and his slate were openly fighting to push the Democratic Party further left on key issues, Israel’s war in Gaza and economic populism chief among them.
“A year ago, it was not the end of a political movement. It was the beginning,” Mamdani charged at Valdez’s celebration party in Brooklyn, reflecting on his mayoral victory last year, as the crowd chanted, “DSA! DSA!”
He continued: “The old politics that got us to this crisis is not the politics that is going to get us out of this crisis,” he said.
In Washington, Jeffries downplayed the influence of the Mamdani-backed candidates before polls closed on Tuesday.
“We have agreed to strongly disagree,” Jeffries said of Mamdani on Capitol Hill. “There are 215 members of the House Democratic caucus. A handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other, in a given state or two, aren’t going to reshape who we are as House Democrats.”
Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, failed in his bid to write his own chapter in Camelot lore as he competed in a crowded field for a seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler. Mamdani made no endorsement in that hotly contested race.
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Establishment Democrats celebrated the victory of state Assembly member Micah Lasher, a longtime government hand backed by Democratic leaders, who prevailed in a field that also included anti-Trump activist George Conway and assembly member Alex Bores, whose proposals to regulate artificial intelligence triggered tech industry blowback.
Mamdani’s insurgents sweep to victory
Mamdani, whose first six months in office have drawn praise from establishment Democrats and even President Donald Trump, had made a big push to promote the three congressional candidates who challenged Democrats supported by the party’s leadership.
Two of Mamdani’s congressional slate identify as democratic socialists, while Lander has identified with the movement in the past.
In his celebration speech on Tuesday, Lander vowed to abolish the federal bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, described Israel’s war in Gaza as “genocide” and referred to “Trump’s fascism.” He has been especially outspoken against Trump’s immigration crackdown and was acquitted earlier this month on charges related to a protest inside a building housing an immigration court .
All three of Mamdani’s candidates have promised to “abolish ICE,” condemned the “genocide” in Israel and vowed to “tax the rich” if elected.
Mamdani’s most polarizing pick was Avila Chevalier, 32, in her race against Espaillat, 71, who was the first Dominican American elected to Congress and represents a district in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
Avila Chevalier has not held political office and casts herself as an outsider. Around an hour before polls closed, she was standing on a street corner in Harlem with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, chatting with voters in a final Election Day push.
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On the next corner, a small truck displayed an ad attacking Avila Chevalier, highlighting a disparaging remark she made on social media about former Vice President Kamala Harris. Avila Chevalier had previously apologized for the post.
Espaillat’s allies have called Avila Chevalier unfit for office, pointing out a history of inflammatory and profane social media posts when she was in her 20s.
In East Harlem, 47-year-old voter Sara Hyler said she flip-flopped several times between Avila Chevalier and Espaillat in the lead up to Election Day, but eventually cast her ballot for Avila Chevalier after learning about heavy support for the incumbent by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
“It was the breaking point, my last straw,” she said of the donations to Espaillat by the lobbying group, also known as AIPAC.
Hyler said it was important to elect a new crop of progressive Democrats who aren’t beholden to AIPAC and the Israeli government. “As much as I support Israel, I don’t think we should be paying for them,” Hyler said.
The war in Gaza was a dividing line between Goldman and Lander, both of whom are Jewish. Lander assailed Goldman for not being tough enough on Israel over its military action against Palestinians. Goldman has consistently criticized Israel’s government and condemned settler violence but has stopped short of describing the conflict as a genocide, which Lander has done.
Mamdani had backed Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, in the race to succeed Velazquez in a district covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Though Reynoso won Velazquez’s endorsement, he failed to earn the mayor’s backing.
Yvette Sanchez, a 30-year-old preschool teacher who voted for Espaillat, said she was put off by Mamdani’s attempts to unseat the incumbent in her district and stifle Velazquez’s preferred successor, arguing that the established candidates are supported by Black and Latino communities.
“Do you just think you can insert anyone you want or do you actually want to listen to us?” Sanchez, who supported Mamdani last year, said of the mayor.
A Trump acolyte triumphs in upstate New York
In northern New York state, a Trump acolyte with no previous political experience prevailed over a conservative state lawmaker in the Republican primary for a seat soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Anthony Constantino, head of the custom sticker company Sticker Mule, won the GOP nod in New York’s 21st Congressional District, overcoming New York state Assembly Member Robert Smullen for the nomination.
Constantino had showcased his enthusiasm for the president by putting a massive “Vote For Trump” sign atop one of his company buildings. He also released a hip-hop album titled “Thank You President Trump,” and commissioned a statue of Trump and gave it to the president in Florida. Trump has endorsed him.
Smullen, who had strong support from local Republicans, had argued that Constantino’s antics, which include regular bashing of the state GOP, make him unfit to serve in the House.
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• Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed.
