Mamdani’s influence spreads as his leftist candidates rack up wins
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is shaping up to be a political powerhouse with three Democratic U.S. House candidates he endorsed winning primary elections on Tuesday.
The Mamdani-backed candidates won key House primaries giving the mayor a series of high-profile victories as he looks to expand his influence inside the party.
In northern Manhattan and the Bronx, Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated veteran Congressman Adriano Espaillat in one of the night’s biggest upsets. Also, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander won his primary, defeating incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman.
Meanwhile, in the primary for retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez’s seat, Mamdani’s pick, state assembly member Claire Valdez, beat out Velázquez’s pick, Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso.
The results mark another showing of strength for Mamdani’s progressive coalition and could give him a growing network of allies in Washington if the candidates hold on in November.
Also in New York, state assembly member Micah Lasher defeated three opponents as he hopes to succeed retiring long-time Congressman Jerry Nadler and take Nadler’s manhattan-based seat.
Critics rip Mamdani’s pick
Critics were quick to point out that Avila Chevalier is known for attacking other Democrats, like former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as pushing for abolishing prisons and the police.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella called Tuesday “the night the Democrat establishment officially surrendered to Zohran Mamdani and the socialist wing of their party.”
He added, “Americans should be terrified by where the Democrat Party is headed.”
Others say that even though they have no been elected to office yet, they’re ushering in a new generation of Latino lawmakers.
“Espaillat’s exit means the ushering out of the first formerly undocumented member of Congress,” said Playbook’s Ali Bianco. “But the combination of his ouster, along with Velázquez’s handpicked successor falling flat, means two of the Democrats’ Latino titans in Congress are forced to give way to younger Latinos who could reshape the Hispanic Caucus in a more progressive direction.”
South Carolina primary
South Carolina also held elections on Tuesday, as well.
State Attorney General Alan Wilson won the Republican runoff for governor after President Donald Trump took the unusual step of endorsing both him and his opponent, Pamela Evette.
And in a key house race, former Three-Star Rear Admiral Nancy Lacore, who was fired earlier this year by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, won the Democratic primary and will now compete for the Republican-held District 1 seat in November.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
