Mamdani Allies Defeat Establishment Democrats in NYC Congressional Primaries
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On Tuesday night, all three congressional candidates endorsed by progressive New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primary election contests, upsetting the choices of establishment Democrats and potentially setting the party on a new course.
Two of the Mamdani- and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed candidates won against incumbent Democratic Party members of Congress, while the third candidate won an open primary election.
Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman by a margin of around 31.8 points, as of Wednesday morning. Darializa Avila Chevalier bested Rep. Adriano Espaillat by 4.5 points. And Claire Valdez won against her opponent, Antonio Reynoso, by 20.3 points.
The primary election wins are being viewed as a show of force for progressive candidates, with one Democratic consultant describing them as “seismic.” Some establishment leaders of the party expressed questionable sentiments about whether they could cooperate with the winners should they move on to Washington.
“What we have to do is sit down and work with the left-leaning part of the party and see if we can come to some sort of understanding going forward,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Under Mamdani, New York Will Open a Free Child Care Center for City Workers
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, downplayed the losses for establishment Democrats, asserting that the victories for progressive candidates wouldn’t change the trajectory of the party.
“We have agreed to strongly disagree,” he said of the three candidates who won. “There are 215 members of the House Democratic........
