Mamdani-backed candidates sweep NY primaries, signaling leftward shift for Dems

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed candidates swept three congressional primaries on Tuesday, putting democratic socialists on track to double their ranks in Congress almost exactly a year after Mamdani’s own primary win shook the city’s political establishment.

The night’s biggest upset came in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, where Darializa Avila Chevalier, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), narrowly unseated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, 79, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. In Brooklyn’s 10th District, former Comptroller Brad Lander routed Rep. Dan Goldman by more than 30 points, while in the open 7th District, Assemblywoman Claire Valdez beat Borough President Antonio Reynoso by a comfortable double-digit margin.

The results, in Mamdani’s view, prove his coalition can carry candidates beyond his own race. He has noted that Avila Chevalier will be the first Afro Latina Dominican woman and Valdez the first Mexican American and Indigenous woman to represent their districts. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who has called Mamdani a “communist lunatic” during his mayoral primary, mocked the results as electing three “solid Communists.”

Reaction from Democratic leadership was sharp. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whose endorsed candidates all lost, called his relationship with Mamdani “very good” but said the mayor has work to do repairing ties with Congress. He also stressed his focus on winning the House back in November.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez, whose seat Valdez won, said Mamdani made “a strategic error of judgement” by overriding her preferred successor, according to CNN. She canceled a dinner with him after learning of his endorsement secondhand.

Rep. Ro Khanna, on the other hand, struck a far more celebratory tone, telling Axios that “the energy of our party is clearly with the left.” Jon Paul Lupo, a former adviser to ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio, called the results “seismic,” as per The New York Times.

The results matter because Mamdani is using his political capital to elevate working-class candidates of color, including two daughters of immigrant families, into Congress. Citing Avila Chevalier’s own words, Mamdani told NPR that it is time to “invest in babies, not bombs,” linking domestic affordability to his opposition to U.S. military aid abroad. The message, of course, is aimed squarely at communities feeling squeezed economically.

Atty. Gen. Letitia James, who backed Mamdani’s own mayoral run, ended up on the other side as she raised concerns from a historical and party unity perspective. Speaking to CNN, she said some endorsed candidates do not understand “the cultural differences from district to district.” “All of us are a little frustrated with the Democratic Party. But you don’t blow it up. That’s what MAGA has done,” she added.

Avila Chevalier, in particular, has drawn controversy over past inflammatory statements, including calling former President Joe Biden a “rapist” and “war criminal” during the 2020 election. She also wrote “Fuck Kamala Harris” after the former vice president discouraged migrants coming to the U.S. In an interview with MSNOW Wednesday, she expressed regrets over the now-deleted posts, adding that “as an organizer, my goal is always to unify our community.”