NYC Mayor’s Endorsed Candidates Win All Three Competitive House Primaries, Signaling Leftward Shift in Democratic Politics
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani scored a sweeping political victory Tuesday night as all three of his endorsed congressional candidates defeated establishment-backed opponents in Democratic primaries, marking the first major test of his progressive movement’s electoral muscle.
The results dealt a significant blow to the Democratic establishment, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, whose endorsed incumbents lost in two of the three contests. All three winning candidates are expected to hold their heavily Democratic districts in November.
The Biggest Upset: Espaillat Falls in the 13th
The night’s most striking result came in New York’s 13th congressional district, where Mamdani-backed Darializa Avila Chevalier — a 32-year-old community organizer and democratic socialist — narrowly defeated five-term incumbent Adriano Espaillat, according to the Associated Press.
Espaillat, 71, was the first Dominican-American elected to Congress and chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He carried endorsements from a broad array of powerful Democrats, including Jeffries — none of it enough to hold off a challenger running explicitly to his left.
Avila Chevalier will represent Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, a district that leans heavily Democratic and where she is favored to win in the fall.
Goldman Out in the 10th
Establishment Democrats also lost in New York’s 10th congressional district, where former City Comptroller Brad Lander decisively unseated two-term Rep. Dan Goldman — another Jeffries endorsee.
Lander, a progressive who ran on economic justice and a sharp critique of Goldman’s record, now becomes the heavy favorite in the general election for a district that covers parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.
Valdez Wins Open Seat in the 7th
In the race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th district, Mamdani backed state Rep. Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist, over Antonio Reynoso — who had the support of both Velázquez herself and the Working Families Party.
Valdez’s win in an open primary underscores the breadth of Mamdani’s influence: he was willing to break not just with centrist Democrats but with progressive institutions when he judged his preferred candidate to be further left.
What It Means
Mamdani had made a deliberate choice in each race, endorsing candidates unafraid to criticize U.S. policy toward Israel and willing to push ambitious economic platforms. Tuesday’s results suggest that posture resonates with Democratic primary voters in New York City’s most competitive districts.
The three incoming members — Avila Chevalier, Lander, and Valdez — represent a distinct strand of democratic socialist politics, not simply the center-left liberalism that has dominated the House Democratic caucus. Their victories raise real questions about the direction of the party heading into a critical election cycle.
For Jeffries, whose endorsements went 0-for-2 against Mamdani’s picks, the night offered a pointed challenge to his authority as the party’s top House leader.