New Yorkers were voting on Tuesday in a slate of Democratic primaries poised to reveal the strength of the party’s left flank and shape the battle for control of the US House of Representatives in November.
National Attention on New York Contests
Voters in Maryland and Utah will also nominate congressional candidates on Tuesday, while South Carolina holds a series of runoff elections for candidates who did not receive a majority of the vote earlier this month. But the New York contests, unfolding in a state expected to play a decisive role in determining the congressional majority, have attracted significant national attention as Democrats weigh competing visions for their party’s future in the Trump era.
With Republicans holding a narrow House majority (217-212, with five vacancies and one independent), Democrats hope to flip a crucial battleground district in the Hudson Valley while defending three seats heavily targeted by the GOP.
Mamdani's Endorsements and Ideological Battles
In an ideological battle closely watched by party leadership, several self-identified democratic socialists are taking on more centrist Democrats in safe-blue seats, in an early test of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political clout. Mamdani, the democratic socialist mayor elected last year, has backed three leftwing congressional candidates. Two Mamdani-endorsed candidates – former New York City comptroller Brad Lander and public defense investigator Darializa Avila Chevalier – are running to unseat Democratic incumbents in safely Democratic districts.
“People often ask me what I think of the state of the Democratic party. This slate here today is our answer,” Mamdani said at a rally with the candidates and Bernie Sanders on Thursday. “The Democratic party must change.” He added: “The party of the past will not be what leads us into the future. We need a Democratic party with backbone.”
Key Races and Candidates
In New York’s 10th congressional district, which includes lower Manhattan and part of Brooklyn, a late May survey found Lander with a convincing lead over incumbent Dan Goldman. Goldman has countered with support from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as the Democratic establishment pushes back against Mamdani’s left wing.
Avila Chevalier is challenging Representative Adriano Espaillat, a five-term Democrat and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The 32-year-old democratic socialist argues that the 71-year-old Espaillat is out of touch with young and working-class residents, while Espaillat points to his experience and advocacy on behalf of immigrants and civil rights.
Claire Valdez, another Mamdani-backed democratic socialist, is running for the open seat in New York’s seventh district, encompassing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, vacated by Representative Nydia Velázquez after 17 terms. Valdez faces Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president, who has endorsements from Jeffries and Velázquez. The race tests the new progressive wing against the old guard.
Israel-Gaza War as Campaign Issue
Questions surrounding candidates’ stances on Israel and the war in Gaza have featured prominently. Lander and Valdez have both condemned Israel’s war on Gaza as genocide, as has a United Nations independent international commission of inquiry. Goldman and Espaillat have faced attacks over their ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby.
Kennedy Name and AI Influence in Wealthy District
In New York’s 12th district, the state’s wealthiest and safely Democratic, voters may deliver a verdict on the limits of Kennedy family influence. Jack Schlossberg, 33-year-old grandson of John F. Kennedy, has run a meme-heavy campaign but appears to have fallen behind Micah Lasher, a state representative, and Alex Bores, a state representative whose campaign has become a proxy war between AI companies. AI investors have poured money into Super PACs opposing Bores over state legislation he proposed to regulate the industry. The primary also features George Conway, the Republican turned Trump critic who has out-raised the field and vowed to hold the president accountable.
Battleground District in Hudson Valley
Beyond ideological battles, New York is set to play a starring role in Democrats’ bid to wrest House control. Democrats hope a favorable political environment will help them win New York’s 17th district, north of New York City, held by two-term Republican Mike Lawler, one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents. Former White House counter-terrorism official Cait Conley and local legislator Beth Davidson are among five Democrats vying to take on Lawler. The district was one of three nationwide that voted for Kamala Harris for president in 2024 but elected a Republican member of Congress.
