Three congressional candidates endorsed by Zohran Mamdani, New York’s democratic socialist mayor, won their closely watched primaries on Tuesday, beating out incumbents or incumbent-backed candidates supported by the Democratic establishment.
Key Victories in New York City
Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller who also ran for mayor last year before endorsing Mamdani, defeated the two-term incumbent Democrat Dan Goldman in NY-10. Political newcomer Darializa Avila Chevalier won against five-term incumbent Democrat Adriano Espaillat in NY-13 in a stunning upset. In NY-7, Claire Valdez beat out Brooklyn borough president Antonio Reynoso – the handpicked successor of Nydia Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress who is considered a progressive giant of New York City politics.
Growing Influence of Progressive Movement
This clean sweep for Mamdani is a clear indicator of his growing influence – and that of his ascendant progressive movement – over the Democratic party. “The old politics that got us into this crisis is not the politics that’s going to get us out of this crisis,” Mamdani said at a watch party for Valdez.
Other Primary Results Across the Country
In Maryland, Adrian Boafo won the extremely crowded primary race to succeed Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat and a longtime member of leadership who is retiring at the end of his 23rd term. Boafo, a state delegate, defeated the former US Capitol police officer Harry Dunn, who defended the building on January 6, and businesswoman Quincy Bareebe. April McClain Delaney fended off her predecessor, the former Democratic congressman David Trone, who sought to reclaim his seat in Maryland’s sixth district after an unsuccessful bid for Senate two years ago.
Nancy Lacore, a three-star navy rear-admiral fired by Pete Hegseth last year in the defense secretary’s purge of senior US military officials, has won the Democratic nomination in a runoff for a closely watched congressional race in South Carolina. South Carolina’s attorney general, Alan Wilson, won the Republican nomination for governor, defeating Trump-backed lieutenant governor Pamela Evette. In Utah, former congressman Ben McAdams, a political moderate, won the primary to compete in a newly drawn Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City.
Upcoming Events
Donald Trump is slated to meet with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, in the Oval office on Wednesday. Later Wednesday, Trump will also be hosting the opening of The Great American State Fair, an event held by the Freedom 250, an organization run by Trump supporters to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary and run counter to America250, the nonpartisan body set up by Congress a decade ago to oversee the commemoration.
