Mamdani backs leftist challengers in New York City congressional primaries

Zohran Mamdani’s political brand faced its sharpest test yet as his chosen congressional slate tried to turn a citywide wave of enthusiasm into actual primary wins against entrenched Democrats. In New York City’s June 23 Democratic primary, with early voting running through June 21, Mamdani backed Brad Lander in the 10th Congressional District, Claire Valdez in the 7th, and Darializa Avila Chevalier in the 13th, a lineup meant to show whether his democratic socialist politics could move beyond one mayor’s personal appeal.

Mamdani and Bernie Sanders tried to give that effort a late boost at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on June 18, where the mayor warned that the party had to change. “The Democratic Party must change,” Mamdani said, arguing that it had spent too much time managing decline instead of delivering material change for working people. The event was built around issues that have become central to the left in New York City, including worker rights, affordability and immigration, and it was aimed at helping candidates running to the left of their primary rivals.

The races themselves are a direct challenge to sitting power. Lander is taking on Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th District. Valdez is running in the 7th District, where Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is also in the field as Rep. Nydia Velázquez retires. Avila Chevalier is challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District, where Espaillat has represented the district since 2017. The races have become a proxy fight over whether Mamdani’s alliance with Sanders, the Democratic Socialists of America and other left groups can reshape the party’s direction in New York.

The push has also sharpened tensions with the rest of the state’s Democratic establishment. Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing Goldman and Espaillat, while Attorney General Letitia James is backing Reynoso in the 7th District. Espaillat, once an ally of Mamdani’s, rejected the idea that the endorsement fight alone could decide the race. “One endorsement does not make a race. Voters do,” he said, pointing to his backing from labor unions, advocacy groups and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is trying to help Democrats win back the House while also defending incumbents in these primaries.

For Mamdani, the stakes are larger than three district races. Supporters see the slate as a foothold for his politics in Washington, while critics warn it could pull the party too far left. Opponents also seized on the Kings Theatre rally’s outside spending, noting the irony of Sanders railing against super PACs while the candidates he endorsed benefited from a super PAC-funded event.