I don't know how many countless times back in the old days how we here in SDN complained about spineless corporate Democrats in office, but there's finally another wave of new blood to get them out. These safe blue seats mean they don't have to take a moderate position as there will never be a Republican challenger in these districts. Congratulations to Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Claire Valdez. I hope these wins spur others throughout the country.
This was probably one of the few elections I've voted in where I was very reluctant to write-in since every single seat was important to get progressives into office. Unfortunately on my end the wave of wins didn't include my congressional district. Chuck Park in the 6th Congressional District did not win against Grace Meng, but this wasn't a surprise either as she wasn't mired in a scandal and as she generally keeps herself out of the spotlight, there wasn't much that could be said about her to actually convince people to vote against her. That said, Chuck Park managed to get 43% of the vote which is pretty damn good for a lowkey race against an incumbent and not having the endorsements from the Working Families Party and Mamdani/DSA. If his campaign had more volunteers on the ground, I believe he could've taken it, but in the end, 2028 is not too far in the future for a second run.
Note: For transparency, some races were removed to shorten the article to focus on wins against the establishment.CNBC wrote: Three progressive candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won Democratic primaries for House seats on Tuesday night, ousting two incumbents in the process.
Brad Lander, who previously was the city’s comptroller, defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th congressional district, which includes parts of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat conceded to Mamdani-endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier in the primary for the 13th District, which covers upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx.
And the third Mamdani-endorsed candidate, Claire Valdez, won the primary for an open House seat representing the 7th District, which includes neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. Incumbent Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who currently represents the district, is not seeking reelection.
The Democratic Socialists of America organization backed Chevalier and Valdez.
A year ago, the DSA’s efforts helped Mamdani stun the local and national political world by soundly defeating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary, and months later in the general election.
“It’s not just a question of electing more Democrats. It’s a question of electing better Democrats,” Mamdani said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
“When I look at these candidacies, I see in them a willingness to also put working people back at the heart of our politics,” Mamdani said.
In another closely watched race, to succeed Rep. Jerry Nadler in the 12th District in Manhattan, Micah Lasher defeated his fellow state assemblyman Alex Bores, and a field of other candidates, including Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of late President John F. Kennedy.
Two political action committees affiliated with major artificial intelligence companies had pumped a stunning combined $20 million into the race to back or oppose Bores’ candidacy.
The winners of the four primaries are seen as all but locks to win the general election in November, given their heavily Democratic voter populations.
Queens Chronicle wrote:The DSA dominated in primary contests
Insurgents on the left won high-stakes races; incumbents also were victors
by Stephanie G. Meditz, Editor
Jun 24, 2026
Democratic socialists took the polls by storm on Primary Day June 23, with a slate of insurgents earning nods in some competitive, high-stakes races.
Among them was state Assemblymember Claire Valdez (D-Sunnyside), who pulled out a victory in the crowded Democratic contest for New York’s Seventh Congressional District. She defeated three fellow competitors, most notably Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who was backed by the Working Families Party, the Queens Democrats and incumbent U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (DBrooklyn, Queens) herself.
“When we fight, we win,” Valdez said in a social media post Tuesday night, sharing a video of herself. Alongside incumbent Assemblymember Diana Moreno (D-Astoria), Aber Kawas, David Orkin and Samantha Kattan, all fellow democratic socialists who won their respective primaries. “Love you all. Solidarity forever.”
Those five candidates were all backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, and all but Orkin were formally backed by Mayor Mamdani. Mamdani won his own 11-candidate primary decisively last June, and later took the mayoralty with 50.4 percent of the vote.
The rapid rise of Mamdani, a former Astoria assemblyman who polled at just 1 percent last February, set off a wave of momentum that DSA hopefuls are still riding. Kawas defeated a sitting Assembly member in the primary for an open state Senate seat, and Orkin bested an incumbent in the lower chamber.
It was a good night for democratic socialists in and beyond Queens. Several of the borough’s incumbents also emerged victorious.
State comptroller
Incumbent state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli defeated Democrats Drew Warshaw and Raj Goyle, with
about 59 percent of the vote.
Queens civil court county judge
Attorneys Edmond Wong and Julie Milner led the Democratic race for the bench, coming in ahead of
John Ciafone and Edward Irizarry at 31 and 27 percent, respectively.
Sixth Congressional District
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) won her party’s nod over Chuck Park, with about 57
percent of the vote.
Seventh Congressional District
Valdez earned the Democratic nomination to replace Velázquez in Congress, beating out Reynoso,
public defender Vichal Kumar and City Councilmember Julie Won (D-Long Island City) with 56
percent.
14th Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx, Queens) won the Democratic nod over Felipe
Garcia and Marty Dolan with a landslide 87 percent.
State Senate District 12
Kawas, an organizer, defeated Assemblymember Steven Raga (D-Woodside) for the Democratic
nod to replace state Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria) with about 60 percent of the vote.
State Senate District 13
With 48 percent of the vote, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas (D-East Elmhurst) led the
Democratic primary contest to replace incumbent state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Jackson Heights),
which also included Hiram Monserrate [see separate story on this race and the next two in some
editions or at qchron.com].
Assembly District 30
The Democratic contest between Patrick Martinez, Somnath Ghimire and Shamsul Haque for
Raga’s seat was too close to call by press time Wednesday. But Martinez had the narrowest of
leads, with 44 percent and just 13 more votes than Haque.