June 23 Primaries Deliver a DHS Veteran for New York's Top Swing Seat, a Sanders-Aligned Win in Brooklyn, and a JFK Grandson's Loss in Manhattan

New York's 17th: The Race That Actually Matters for House Control

Cait Conley won the Democratic primary for New York's 17th Congressional District on Tuesday night, clearing 52% of the vote with 37% of ballots counted as of 9:50 p.m., according to the Associated Press. Her nearest competitor, Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson, finished at 28.3%. Progressive Effie Phillips-Staley, a Tarrytown village trustee, pulled just 15.3%.

Conley is an Army veteran who went on to work in cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration before returning to the Hudson Valley to run.

She faces Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in November. Lawler has won this seat twice: he flipped it in 2022 by beating then-DCCC chairman Sean Patrick Maloney, and held it in 2024 by six points even as the district voted for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump 50%-49%, per the NY Post. Cook Political Report currently rates the seat a toss-up and considers it the only New York Republican district within realistic Democratic reach this cycle.

Lawler has outrun his district's partisan lean twice, he occupies a moderate lane that plays well in suburban Rockland and Westchester, and he has built name recognition over two full terms. For Conley, a Harris-majority district with a six-point Lawler margin is winnable with a generic Democrat in a favorable national environment, and her biography avoids the progressive vulnerabilities that sink candidates in swing territory. Phillips-Staley's 15% finish confirms the progressive lane is thin here.

A key question heading into November: whether a DHS background, tied to an administration voters rejected in 2024, will be a selling point or a liability with the independents who decide this district.

New York's 10th: Goldman Out, Lander In

In one of the nation's bluest House seats, spanning Lower Manhattan through Park Slope and Sunset Park, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in the Democratic primary, Fox News reported.

Lander, a former Democratic Socialists of America member, was backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel during Trump's first impeachment, was first elected in 2022.

The result marks a clear victory for New York City's progressive wing. Lander ran explicitly to Goldman's left, and the Sanders-Mamdani coalition delivered.

New York's 12th: Lasher Wins, Schlossberg Goes Home

New York Assemblyman Micah Lasher won the crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler in the 12th Congressional District, which Nadler held since 1992. Lasher worked for Nadler, Governor Kathy Hochul, and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and entered with endorsements from all three, according to Fox News.

The race drew national attention because of the other names in the field. George Conway, the anti-Trump conservative attorney formerly married to Kellyanne Conway, ran and lost. Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, ran and lost. Schlossberg addressed supporters after polls closed but neither conceded nor claimed victory, telling the crowd: "No matter what, if we win tonight, or if we don't, we're still in the midst of a corruption crisis. We need to do things differently," according to the Journal.

The 12th is one of the most Democratic districts in the country. Lasher's general election prospects are effectively decided by Tuesday's primary.

The Journal noted that Mayor Mamdani was actively working to shape the city's congressional delegation through endorsements, with backed candidates winning in Districts 7 and 10.

Other States: South Carolina, Maryland, Utah

In South Carolina, State Attorney General Alan Wilson won the Republican gubernatorial primary runoff, per the Journal. Wilson beat Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette despite President Trump having initially endorsed Evette. Trump said Friday that either candidate would be acceptable, effectively pulling his endorsement's force.

Also in South Carolina, retired Navy Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore won the Democratic primary runoff in the 1st Congressional District, where she will face Rep. Nancy Mace, according to Fox News. Lacore served 35 years in the Navy.

In Maryland, all eight congressional districts held contested Democratic primaries. Gov. Wes Moore secured the Democratic nomination for a second term, per the Journal. Maryland's lone Republican-held district means Democratic primaries there often function as the de facto general.

In Utah, voters chose nominees under a court-ordered new congressional map that created a Democratic-friendly district centered on Salt Lake City.

The Midterm Environment

Nearly every competitive result Tuesday feeds into the same larger question: how much will a Trump second term define the midterm environment? The NY Post's coverage focused tightly on the Conley-Lawler race as the marquee New York battleground. Fox News emphasized the progressive wave in Brooklyn and the defeat of Goldman, a Trump-impeachment figure. Both dynamics are real and will matter in November.

The Lawler-Conley race has direct implications for House control. Democrats need a net gain to flip the chamber. Cook Political Report's toss-up rating as of June 23 means that seat could break either way, and the outcome will likely hinge on whether Conley can consolidate Democrats who backed Davidson and Phillips-Staley while cutting into Lawler's independent support in Rockland and Westchester counties.