New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed candidates achieved significant victories in Tuesday’s Democratic primaries, with two of his picks unseating incumbent U.S. House members.
A third candidate backed by the mayor won a primary for a seat vacated by retiring Representative Nydia Velazquez.
The most notable upset came as Darializa Chevalier defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District. Espaillat, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is also considered close to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Newsmax and Decision Desk HQ called Chevalier’s victory approximately an hour after polls closed, with 92% of votes counted showing Chevalier securing 49.5% compared to Espaillat’s 46.2%. The race featured two other candidates.
Chevalier, like Mamdani, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and gained traction from the mayor’s campaign appearances in the district, which encompasses parts of Harlem, Washington Heights, and the Bronx.
In New York’s 10th Congressional District, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, who served as lead majority counsel during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment inquiry before entering Congress. Newsmax and Decision Desk HQ declared Lander the winner about 30 minutes after polls closed, with 88% of votes counted showing Lander at 66.5% to Goldman’s 33.5%.
Goldman, running in his second term, won the 2024 Democratic primary by nearly 43 percentage points and received backing from Governor Kathy Hochul and House leadership.
State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, another member of the Democratic Socialists of America like Mamdani and Chevalier, secured victory in New York’s 7th Congressional District, where Rep. Velazquez is retiring. Decision Desk HQ reported Valdez with 58.3% of the vote, followed by Antonio Reynoso at 33.1% and two other candidates.
The district, which covers areas in Brooklyn and Queens, has been labeled the “Commie Corridor” due to the Democratic Socialists of America’s strong electoral presence there. The group’s influence was particularly evident during last year’s June mayoral primary, when Mamdani achieved some of his strongest results in that region.
