A slate of candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept their primaries on a night that underscored the strength of the city's progressive insurgency. Candidates challenging what is seen as the Democratic establishment notched victories in traditionally blue districts, setting the stage for the party's direction heading into the midterm elections.
The night's marquee upset came uptown and in the Bronx. Challenger Avila-Chevalier declared victory over incumbent Adriano Espaillat, who had been seeking a sixth term and has now conceded. The result toppled a long-serving member of the House and stood out as the clearest sign of the slate's momentum.
Another establishment incumbent also fell. Brad Lander unseated Congressman Dan Goldman in a primary challenge in New York's 10th district, celebrating the win at a Gowanus brewery. Lander is not a democratic socialist like some of the other candidates Mamdani supported, but he ran on positions further to the left of Goldman, including on Israel, telling supporters there would be safety when Palestinians are free.
The wins extended beyond those two races. Claire Valdez, an assemblywoman, won her bid to run for Congress, while Avila-Chevalier's victory rounded out a group of challengers that, in the eyes of the mayor's allies, points to the emergence of a new kind of party built around a clear progressive vision.
Mamdani himself spent the final hours before the polls closed campaigning in Brooklyn to get out the vote. Asked how the party should come together after a primary that highlighted its divisions, he called for a real vision for the working person, invoking the legacies of Franklin Roosevelt and Fiorello LaGuardia and the New Deal as models the party should embrace again.
The results came on relatively light participation. Turnout was only about half of what the city saw a year ago in the mayoral primary, yet it still translated into a strong showing for the candidates challenging the establishment, who carried their races in districts long considered safely Democratic.
Not every incumbent was swept aside. In Long Island's 3rd district, Tom Suozzi won his primary and advances to face a Republican opponent in the general election, while Yvette Clarke held on in the 9th district. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her primary in the 14th district, and Ritchie Torres prevailed in the 15th, leaving a mix of insurgent gains and established names on the ballot heading toward November.