5 takeaways from New York’s primary election : NPR
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a primary night watch party for congressional candidate Claire Valdez on June 23 in the Brooklyn borough in New York City. Mamdani’s three endorsed candidates all won their primaries, including Valdez.
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Some of the most divisive issues reverberating throughout the Democratic Party were on full display in the New York primary Tuesday night.
Whether it was the role of big tech in elections, views towards Israel or the appetite for generational change, voters had their say in a handful of closely watched congressional matchups.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways.
A big win for Mamdani
Less than seven months after being sworn in as mayor, Zohran Mamdani took a big political gamble. The democratic socialist endorsed in three competitive House primary matchups, breaking with Democratic leaders by supporting leftist candidates who were unafraid to criticize Israel and push for ambitious economic policies.
All three candidates won, including two candidates who challenged sitting Democratic lawmakers.
“A year ago it was not the end of a political movement,” Mamdani said Tuesday night, “it was the beginning.”
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old organizer and democratic socialist, delivered the biggest upset of the night. She narrowly defeated five-term representative and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Adriano Espaillat, 71, in the primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District.
Establishment Democrats also suffered blows elsewhere in the city, including in New York’s 10th Congressional District where former City Comptroller Brad Lander, a progressive, decisively unseated two-term Rep. Dan Goldman.
And, in the open race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th District, state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, another democratic socialist, defeated Antonio Reynoso, who had the backing of Velázquez and the Working Families Party.
Popular in New York, but is it a national movement?
Supporters of New York congressional candidate Claire Valdez celebrate as she is announced the winner of her race during her primary night watch party in New York City.
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Leaders with the Democratic Socialists of America cheered the results Tuesday, calling the victories of Valdez and Avila Chevalier a clear sign of increasing voter appetite in the movement.
“These victories prove that democratic socialists are building a winning coalition,” NYC-DSA co-chair Grace Mausser said in a statement.
“While the Democratic establishment and MAGA fascists ignore the needs of working people, democratic socialists are speaking to the ever-growing base of voters demanding we end war, abolish ICE, tax the rich, and win universal healthcare.”
There are signs of growing interest outside of New York. Just last week, Washington, D.C., voters elected Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist, to be their next mayor, and earlier this month Los Angeles DSA candidate Nithya Raman advanced to the general election for mayor there.
Plus, after Mamdani’s upset primary win last year, young voters around the country told NPR that they considered him a national leader. Since that victory, the DSA has reported a surge in membership.
But even with those high-profile wins, it remains unclear how this blueprint can translate elsewhere in the country, given DSA-backed candidates have yet to pull off a victory outside of a major city. And, the embrace of democratic socialism gives Republicans something to campaign against. The National Republican Congressional Committee was quick to release a statement saying the Democratic Party “officially belongs to the socialists.”
“Every House Democrat, in safe and competitive districts alike, will now answer to the radicals calling the shots.” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in the statement. “And Americans should be terrified by where the Democrat Party is headed.”
Israel continues to be a point of controversy
Even as voter attention has shifted to the war in Iran, one of the deciding factors in both of the races that saw Mamdani-backed progressive challenges was over support for Israel.
Lander, who is Jewish, has been a more critical voice on the issue, referring to the war in Gaza as a genocide and advocating for an end to U.S. military aid. He sought to draw contrast with Goldman, who is also Jewish, has defended Israel, and previously received support from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.
It was also a major point of contention in New York’s 13th district, where Avila Chevalier lambasted Espaillat for taking money from AIPAC and its donors. The role of AIPAC in elections has become, in some ways, a litmus test for Democrats in competitive primary races in safe seats.
In April, the Democratic National Committee failed to pass a symbolic resolution limiting the influence of AIPAC and dark money groups, showing how the party struggles on just how to communicate with voters about Israel and the party becomes increasingly divided.
A competitive general election matchup
Rep. Mike Lawler, Republican from New York, speaks as President Trump looks on during an event in Suffern, New York, part of Lawler’s district, on May 22. Lawler is one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.
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Given most of New York’s districts heavily favor one party, most of the state’s congressional delegation is essentially set after primary day. But New York’s 17th District is the exception.
Labeled a toss-up by Cook Political Report, the seat, which includes some of the Hudson Valley and New York City suburbs, is currently represented by vulnerable Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.
He’ll face off against Cait Conley, an Army combat veteran who came out on top on Tuesday in a competitive and crowded primary race. Democrats are hungry to flip the seat and many see it as a must-win if the party wants to regain a majority in the House of Representatives this fall.
In a post on X Tuesday night, Conley urged Democratic voters — especially ones who didn’t vote for her — to coalesce behind her bid.
“We are united now by something much bigger than any one campaign: the fight to defeat Mike Lawler, take back the House, check this administration, and deliver for the working families of the Hudson Valley,” she said.
Tech money is driving expensive races
Tech companies have spent tens of millions of dollars in midterm races this year. That includes in Manhattan, where super PACs linked to Big AI tried to sway voters in a packed race to succeed longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler in New York’s 12th Congressional District.
State Assemblymember Micah Lasher ultimately carried the seat, defeating a slew of candidates, including Alex Bores, another state assemblymember who in recent months became the subject of intense ad spending by AI companies.
A Super PAC with ties to Open AI, spent millions of dollars against Bores, taking issue with his record in the state legislature to regulate AI. However, that push then prompted groups linked to Anthropic as well as crypto billionaire Chris Laren to shell out millions in support of Bores.
It’s unclear whether that attention brought Bores closer or further from victory, but in a statement after his defeat Tuesday, the state assemblyman cast blame on AI companies for getting involved.
“Some of the richest people on the planet—a handful of oligarchs determined to prevent any check on their power, the very people funding Donald Trump—decided to make an example out of this race. They spent over $10 million to do it,” he said.
“Though we’ve come up short tonight, the example set here was not the one the AI oligarchs intended. They set out to make people afraid to stand up to them. Instead, they learned just how ready people are to push back.”
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