The victory of candidates allied with the New York mayor sparked celebrations online.
MEE staff Published: 24 June 2026 21:22 BST | Last updated: 2 hours 3 minutes ago
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's growing political machine faced its first serious electoral test Tuesday after all three congressional candidates he supported triumphed in closely watched Democratic primaries.
Former city auditor Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, while state legislator and former union organizer Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in a race to replace retiring Nydia Velazquez. In the most dramatic upset of the night, state defense investigator and first-time candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
The trio's victory was quickly celebrated by supporters as proof that Mamdani's campaign was not a one-off, but the beginning of a broader shift in the New York Democratic Party. For Mamdani's allies, the results are a rebuke to a Democratic elite that has often treated progressive voters as a constituency to be manipulated rather than a force to be heard.
Mamdani has intervened in the races in an unusually direct way, campaigning alongside candidates and promoting what he calls an „affordability agenda” that focuses on New York City’s high cost of living. With the grants came a message that Mamdani has increasingly made central to his political identity: that New Yorkers cannot separate the pressures of everyday life from the country’s foreign spending priorities.
Palestine as a political dividing line
Israel’s genocide in Gaza was not the only issue in the primaries, but it was one of the clearest dividing lines. Lander and Goldman’s race was shaped in part by their sharply different positions on Israel and Palestine. Lander, a progressive Jewish politician, is an outspoken critic of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, while Goldman, who is backed by the pro-Israel Public Policy Committee (AIPAC), is a prominent supporter of Israel. The primaries have become one of the clearest tests of how much criticism of Israel can reshape Democratic politics at the grassroots level in New York.
For many social media users, the slogan „Free Palestine!” echoed at Mayor Mamdani’s victory party. Valdez and Avila Chevalier also ran on a strong pro-Palestinian platform, drawing support from activists who have been mobilizing against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza for more than two years. Avila Chevalier previously helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, while his campaign linked demands for universal healthcare, tenant protections, immigration justice, and campaign finance reform.
For many voters, Palestine has become a test of whether Democratic candidates are willing to challenge the party’s long-standing commitment to pro-Israel lobbying groups and Washington’s military relationship with Israel. The result was particularly shocking in the race between Avila Chevalier and Espaillat. His victory over the five-term congressman served as proof that incumbent status, fundraising networks and establishment support no longer guarantee protection in the New York Democratic primary.
Congressional races weren’t the only measure of the shift. In Queens, Palestinian-American Democratic Socialist Aber Kawas won the Democratic primary for a New York state senatorial seat, defeating Rep. Steven Raga. Backed by Mamdani and the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Kawas ran on a platform that combined housing, health care, and workers’ rights with a demand to end what he called New York’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. His victory added symbolic weight to the evening: a Palestinian-American candidate who has put Gaza at the center of his policies had defeated an establishment-backed rival in one of the most closely watched state legislative races.
Affordability politics meets the anti-Trump coalition
The „sweep” was also driven by a familiar New York anxiety: affordability. Mamdani’s rise is tied to a simple political argument that resonates in every borough: New Yorkers are being forced out of their homes, squeezed by rent, child care, and healthcare costs, while being told to accept an economic system that increasingly favors landlords, corporations, and the wealthy.
This argument has been woven into all three campaigns. The candidates have presented themselves as part of a new generation of Democrats who see housing, healthcare and labor rights not as secondary policy issues but as the core of anti-establishment politics. At the time of their victories, President Donald Trump’s administration has heightened the fears of many Democratic voters over immigration enforcement, attacks on public services and the expansion of executive power.
Reuters reported that the victories reflected long-standing progressive frustration with Trump policies and anger over the previous Democratic administration’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. The news agency said the contests tested whether Mamdani can use his political capital to reshape the Democratic Party into a democratic socialist image. Instead, they argue, Democrats need candidates who are willing to confront Trumpism with a more ambitious agenda — one that addresses the financial pressures on people and the anger many feel over U.S. policy in Gaza.
Internet celebration, panic among party critics
The online reaction was swift and polarized. Progressive activists, Palestinian rights organizers, and members of the Democratic Socialists of America celebrated the results as a breakthrough for a movement that has spent years building its grassroots power through tenant organizing, mutual aid networks, and antiwar activism. Some described the victories as New York’s answer to the 2018 surprise that sent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress.
Others pointed to Goldman and Espaillat’s defeats as evidence that the city’s elite Democratic coalition is increasingly vulnerable to candidates willing to combine affordability policies with outspoken criticism of Israel and American foreign policy. The broader primary results confirmed the growing influence of the city’s democratic socialist movement: New York Magazine reported that seven of the eight candidates endorsed by the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America won their legislative races.
But the victories have also raised alarm among centrist Democrats and conservative commentators who say the party risks becoming too closely identified with democratic socialism and unapologetic criticism of Israel. Trump has been among those who have tried to frame the results as evidence that Democrats are moving away from the political center, while party leaders behind closed doors worry that the rise of the progressive left could make Democratic campaigns more difficult in more conservative and tight-knit districts.
These tensions have increasingly put Mamdani on a collision course with establishment figures, including Democratic Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, who supported Goldman. The dispute is likely to intensify ahead of the November midterm elections, especially as Democrats try to balance mobilizing progressive voters with competing in swing districts.
In New York City, however, the immediate implications of Tuesday’s results were unmistakable. Mamdani’s coalition showed it could win not just the mayoral race but also congressional primaries against entrenched Democrats and establishment-backed candidates. For a party struggling to respond to anger over affordability, Trump and Gaza, the message from New York is clear: the rebellious left can no longer be pushed to the margins.
