In a seismic political shift that has upended New York’s Democratic landscape, three progressive candidates endorsed by New York City’s Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani have secured a clean sweep in key congressional primary elections, ousting moderate incumbents and party establishment favorites in a result that underscores the growing influence of the party’s far-left wing ahead of November’s midterms.
The highest-profile upset came in New York’s 10th Congressional District, where left-wing challenger Brad Lander defeated two-term incumbent Dan Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss denim fortune who rose to national prominence leading the first impeachment inquiry into former President Donald Trump in 2019. With nearly all ballots counted, Lander won by a lopsided margin of 65.7% to 34.1%, drawing backing from high-profile progressive leaders including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The race became a flashpoint for national intraparty tension over the Israel-Gaza war: Lander has openly accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, a claim Israel denies, while Goldman enjoyed robust support from national pro-Israel groups. Goldman’s vocal defense of Israeli policy sparked fierce backlash from progressive activists across New York, culminating in a widely circulated incident over the weekend where a Brooklyn coffee shop publicly banned the congressman, calling him a “genocide enabler” in a since-deleted social media post. Notably, both Lander and Goldman identify as Jewish.
Two other Mamdani-endorsed candidates also claimed primary victory on Tuesday. In the 7th District, Assemblywoman Claire Valdez unseated incumbent Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. In the 13th District, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a doctoral student and prominent participant in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, won her race to claim the Democratic nomination. All three winning progressive candidates have campaigned on two radical progressive pledges: abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and implementing higher taxes on wealthy Americans.
In another high-profile primary race, political newcomer Jack Schlossberg, grandson of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, fell short in his bid for the 12th District seat being vacated by long-serving Congressman Jerry Nadler. The 33-year-old Harvard Law graduate and Vogue correspondent, who built a following for his quirky social media content, lost to Assemblymember Micah Lasher, a former aide to Nadler. Mamdani declined to endorse any candidate in that open race.
Speaking to supporters ahead of the final vote counts, Mamdani framed the progressive primary wins as part of a broader ideological project to reorient the Democratic Party around working-class interests. “It’s not just a question of electing more Democrats. It’s a question of electing better Democrats,” he said. “When I look at these candidacies, I see in them a willingness to also put working people back at the heart of our politics.”
The wave of progressive victories has sparked concern among establishment Democratic leaders in Washington, who warn that far-left candidates may struggle to win over critical swing voters in the general election this November. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed back on the idea that the primary results signal a permanent ideological shift for the congressional caucus. “We have agreed to strongly disagree,” Jeffries said of Mamdani’s progressive project. “A handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other, in a given state or two, aren’t going to reshape who we are as House Democrats.”