Progressive Candidates Win New York Democratic Primaries as Mamdani Claims Big Night

In New York’s Democratic primary elections on Wednesday night, progressive candidate Brad Lander defeated incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman. The result made New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani the biggest winner of the primary night, because all three candidates he backed prevailed in their races.

Along with Lander, the Democratic nominees for the House of Representatives in November will also include Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier. Those elections are part of the U.S. midterms, which can shift the balance of power in both the Senate and the House during a president’s term.

The Lander-Goldman race drew national attention, largely because of both men’s positions on Israel and on the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. Goldman is seen as strongly pro-Israel, while Lander, who was endorsed by Mamdani, is a sharp critic of the Israeli government’s policies and of AIPAC.

Last week, Goldman was thrown out of a Brooklyn cafe after staff said the venue did not serve “supporters of genocide,” an incident that drew widespread condemnation, including from Lander. Both Lander and Goldman are Jewish.