Zohran Mamdani's Three Congressional Endorsees Win New York Primaries, DSA Picks Up Six State Legislative Seats

Since Mamdani's mayoral victory last year established him as the dominant force in New York City Democratic politics, the question was whether his influence could extend to congressional races. Tuesday answered that clearly.

The Congressional Results

Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller who dropped his own mayoral bid to endorse Mamdani, defeated incumbent Representative Dan Goldman. Claire Valdez, a state lawmaker and former union organizer backed by Mamdani, defeated Antonio Reynoso, who had been the preferred successor of retiring Representative Nydia Velázquez in New York's 7th district covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

The biggest upset belonged to Darializa Avila Chevalier, a public defense investigator with no prior electoral experience, who defeated Representative Adriano Espaillat in New York's 13th district covering Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Espaillat had served five terms and chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. According to The Guardian, he was considered one of the more entrenched incumbents on the ballot.

All three districts are safely Democratic. Absent something extraordinary, Lander, Valdez, and Avila Chevalier are headed to Congress in January.

The State Legislature Picture

The congressional headlines almost overshadowed a parallel DSA surge in Albany races. According to New York Focus, socialist-aligned candidates are poised to pick up at least six state Assembly and Senate seats. In New York City, Senate candidate Aber Kawas and Assembly contenders Christian Celeste Tate, David Orkin, Eon Huntley, Illapa Sairitupac, and Samantha Kattan each won their races by double digits. In Buffalo, Adam Bojak appears positioned to become DSA's first state legislator from Western New York.

Anti-DSA outside groups spent $9.6 million on state legislative primaries as of Monday. Nearly five times that total was spent through the same point in 2024, according to New York Focus analysis. Of that, $2.9 million went directly toward defeating DSA-backed candidates. It largely did not work. Jeff Leb, a strategist running a pro-moderate super PAC, acknowledged the math to New York Focus: "DSA has momentum, they're running their largest slate in New York, and they think they've figured out the playbook. That's why people are responding."

The one clear DSA loss was Assembly candidate Conrad Blackburn, who trailed incumbent Jordan Wright after more than $900,000 in outside spending was deployed against him, the highest targeting of any single DSA candidate.

What Didn't Work for the Establishment

The race for New York's 12th district, the seat of longtime Representative Jerry Nadler, attracted national attention for different reasons. Jack Schlossberg, 33, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, entered the race with a large social media following and significant name recognition. He lost. Micah Lasher, a longtime New York political operative who described himself as a "nerd," won the primary. Anti-Trump commentator George Conway also ran and lost. According to The Guardian, President Donald Trump celebrated both Goldman's and Conway's defeats Tuesday night.

The Strongest Case Against What Happened

Critics of the DSA surge have a legitimate concern worth taking seriously. New York City's major policy challenges—housing costs, public safety, fiscal solvency—require governing, not just primary wins. Mamdani's campaign promises included fare-free buses, a rent freeze on stabilized apartments, universal child care, and tax increases on corporations and high earners. These are expensive commitments for a city already carrying significant debt load, and skeptics argue that DSA's record in Albany has been more about opposition than legislation. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, in his concession speech after losing last year's mayoral race, warned: "We are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road." Whether that concern is validated depends entirely on whether Mamdani and his allies can actually govern. That verdict is not yet in.

The counter-argument DSA supporters would offer is equally concrete: establishment Democrats controlled New York City and Albany for decades while housing became unaffordable, transit deteriorated, and working-class families left the city. Incumbent protection through super PAC money is not the same as policy success.

What It Means Going Forward

Mamdani ran for mayor as a relatively unknown Queens assemblymember. Less than a year later, according to NPR, he is reshaping the state's congressional delegation and directing the largest DSA state legislative effort in the organization's history. His three congressional picks are all but certain to be seated in January 2027, giving the progressive left a louder voice in a House Democratic caucus that is still defining itself in opposition to a second Trump term.

The unresolved question is whether the coalition that wins primaries in deep-blue New York City districts can hold together when it has to vote on federal budgets, housing legislation, and foreign policy. Whether the super PAC money that failed in 2026 comes back larger in 2028 with a better-targeted strategy remains to be seen.