New York Democrats backed by Mamdani win House primaries

Three progressive candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for House seats on Tuesday night, unseating two incumbents in the process.

Brad Lander, formerly the city comptroller, defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th congressional district, which includes parts of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District, which covers Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.

And the third candidate Mamdani supported, Claire Valdez, won the primary for the open House seat representing the 7th District, which includes neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. Incumbent Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who currently represents the district, is not seeking re-election.

The Democratic Socialists of America supported Chevalier and Valdez.

A year ago, DSA’s organizational efforts helped Mamdani stunned the local and national political world by soundly defeating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary and months later in the general election.

In another closely watched race to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan’s 12th District, Micah Lasher defeated fellow state Assemblyman Alex Bores and a group of other candidates including Jake Schlossberg, grandson of the late President John Kennedy.

Two political action committees affiliated with major AI companies had invested a staggering total of $20 million in the race to support or oppose Bores’ candidacy.

Given the large Democratic voter populations, the winners of the four primaries are almost certain to win the general election in November.

This is an evolving story; Please check back for updates.