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- A progressive slate ousted two incumbents in New York primaries Tuesday.
- The candidates aim to push Democrats left on issues like Israel and ICE.
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's slate of fiery progressives swept establishment-backed Democrats in the state's congressional primaries on Tuesday, ousting two sitting congressmen.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was defeated by Mamdani's most polarizing pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
Rep. Dan Goldman, a two-term incumbent, was beaten by the Mamdani-backed former city Comptroller Brad Lander, who has often aligned himself with the democratic socialist movement. And another Mamdani ally, democratic socialist state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, defeated the handpicked successor of retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
The victories will likely give the New York mayor three new allies in Congress and send a pointed message to establishment figures in Washington, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who campaigned aggressively against Mamdani's candidates and lost.
Ultimately, Mamdani and his slate of three congressional candidates were fighting to push the Democratic Party further left on key issues, Israel's war in Gaza chief among them, even as establishment Democrats in Washington worried that their policies could alienate swing voters in midterm elections across the country this fall.
"It's not just a question of electing more Democrats. It's a question of electing better Democrats, " Mamdani said Tuesday. "When I look at these candidacies, I see in them a willingness to also put working people back at the heart of our politics."
In Washington, Jeffries downplayed the influence of the Mamdani-backed candidates before polls closed on Tuesday.
"We have agreed to strongly disagree," Jeffries said of Mamdani on Capitol Hill. "There are 215 members of the House Democratic caucus. A handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other, in a given state or two, aren't going to reshape who we are as House Democrats."
Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, failed in his bid to write his own chapter in Camelot lore as he competed in a crowded field for a seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. Mamdani made no endorsement in that hotly contested race.
Establishment Democrats celebrated the victory of state Assembly member Micah Lasher, a longtime government hand backed by Democratic leaders, who prevailed in a field that also included anti-Trump activist George Conway and assembly member Alex Bores, whose proposals to regulate artificial intelligence triggered tech industry blowback.
Mamdani, whose first six months in office have drawn praise from establishment Democrats and even President Donald Trump, had made a big push to promote the three congressional candidates who challenged Democrats supported by the party's leadership.
Two of Mamdani's congressional slate identify as democratic socialists, while Lander has identified with the movement in the past.
In his celebration speech on Tuesday, Lander vowed to abolish the federal bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, described Israel's war in Gaza as "genocide" and referred to "Trump's fascism." He has been especially outspoken against Trump's immigration crackdown and was acquitted earlier this month on charges related to a protest inside a building housing an immigration court.
All three of Mamdani's candidates have promised to "abolish ICE," condemned the "genocide" in Israel and vowed to "tax the rich" if elected.
Mamdani's most polarizing pick was Avila Chevalier, 32, in her race against Espaillat, 71, who was the first Dominican American elected to Congress and represents a district in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
Avila Chevalier has not held political office and casts herself as an outsider. Around an hour before polls closed, she was standing on a street corner in Harlem with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, chatting with voters in a final Election Day push.
On the next corner, a small truck displayed an ad attacking Avila Chevalier, highlighting a disparaging remark she made on social media about former Vice President Kamala Harris. Avila Chevalier had previously apologized for the post.
Espaillat's allies have called Avila Chevalier unfit for office, pointing out a history of inflammatory and profane social media posts when she was in her 20s.
Contributing: Jake Offenhartz and Larry Neumeister
