After months of seemingly endless mailers, television ads, and door knocks from intrepid canvassers, New Yorkers will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in some of the most highly watched congressional elections in the country this year. Incumbents like Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat are looking to fend off progressive challengers, while open seats left by retiring fixtures like Jerry Nadler and Nydia Velázquez have attracted an enormous range of candidates, from state legislators and city officials to a Kennedy heir, testing constituents’ openness to change.

Election Day will also be the first true test of Zohran Mamdani’s political might. The mayor has put his weight behind a slate of congressional candidates, including several fellow democratic socialist, as he looks to grow the progressive bloc in Congress — even at the risk of slighting allies. Turnout is not expected to rival the historic numbers seen in the 2025 election. By 9 a.m., only about 24,000 New Yorkers had cast their ballots within the first three hours of voting, per Politico. However, initial data from the city’s Board of Elections says that 172,743 people voted during the nine days of early voting. Here’s a look at some of the marquee races on the ballot Tuesday.

. NY-07: A progressive divide

Representative Nydia Velázquez is retiring, marking the end to a more-than-three-decade-long career in the House of Representatives, where she became the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress. Velázquez is backing Antonio Reynoso, the current Brooklyn borough president and former City Council member, to succeed her in the Seventh Congressional District, which covers Brooklyn and Queens. Reynoso is facing off against Claire Valdez, a recently elected assemblymember, union organizer and democratic socialist who has been endorsed by Mamdani. Julie Won, a City Council member who represents Western Queens, and public defender Vichal Kumar are also running for the seat.

Mamdani’s decision to weigh in on the race angered Velázquez, who was one of the earliest members of Congress to back his mayoral campaign. The congresswoman has been overtly critical of the mayor, telling Politico that she would no longer take Mamdani at his word. “I will say I want it in writing,” she said.

The progressive Working Families Party also endorsed Reynoso over Valdez, joining a........

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