Mamdani-Backed Candidates Sweep NYC Democratic Primaries

The biggest winner of Tuesday’s primary wasn’t even on the ballot.

Candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept a trio of contested congressional races on Tuesday night in a decisive victory for the democratic socialist-fueled movement that brought the mayor to City Hall. The victories for challengers to candidates supported by mainstream Democratic heavyweights could have significant implications for the public policy shaping the real estate industry in the years ahead.

In perhaps the night’s most surprising result, political newcomer Darializa Avila Chevalier narrowly unseated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat to represent the 13th Congressional District in northern Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.

Across the East River, little-known Assembly member Claire Valdez beat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso by 20 points for an open seat to represent the 7th Congressional District in the so-called commie corridor, stretching from western Queens to northern Brooklyn.

Former city Comptroller Brad Lander, a Mamdani ally, also defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman by a whopping 31 points in New York’s 10th district, which spans Lower Manhattan and parts of Brownstone Brooklyn.

The closely watched races were widely seen as a test of the mayor’s political influence, as well as that of the Democratic Socialists of America, which endorsed Avila Chevalier and Valdez.

Apart from Mamdani’s congressional picks winning their primaries, legislative candidates favored by the mayor’s movement also came out on top Tuesday night.

The DSA endorsed seven candidates running for the Assembly and one for the Senate. They declared victory in all but one race: the bid to represent the Assembly’s 70th District, where their candidate, Conrad Blackburn, conceded to incumbent Jordan Wright, who led by 8 points.

The victories are significant because they will boost the DSA’s numbers in the state Legislature, where they intend to push progressive policies likely to include stricter regulation of the real estate industry and proposals to increase taxes on the state’s wealthiest.