Progressive, anti-Israel Democrats score a series of primary wins in New York

Three progressive Democrats backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won congressional primaries overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, in a result that underscores the Democratic Party’s deepening split over Israel. The races, all in New York, centered heavily on U.S. policy toward Israel, with the victors describing Israel’s conduct in Gaza as “genocide” and running against more moderate rivals.

The winners were Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander and Claire Valdez. Lander, who called the Biden administration’s policy toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “catastrophic failure,” said Democrats are “painfully divided” over relations among the United States, Israel and Palestine. He also said Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide and suggested the term could also apply to Israeli activity in Lebanon. Lander, now a close ally of Mamdani, defeated Rep. Dan Goldman after being targeted by activists who accused him of supporting violence against Palestinians.

Avila Chevalier’s race also revolved around Israel. She faced criticism for attending a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square a day after the October 7 attacks, and she had been a leading figure in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Valdez, another democratic socialist, pledged to ban all arms sales to Israel, said she would “fight for Palestinian freedom,” and attacked AIPAC, accusing it of working against her and other candidates who oppose “apartheid.”

The article says these wins reflect the radicalization of the Democratic Party and the growing divide between its moderate and progressive-socialist wings, a fight expected to shape the 2028 Democratic presidential race. At the same time, some pro-Israel candidates won primaries. The most prominent was Adrian Boafo in Maryland, who beat several rivals for the Democratic nomination with $5.7 million in support from AIPAC. Boafo promised to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance while also criticizing Netanyahu.