Mamdani-backed candidates sweep New York primaries, alarming pro-Israel voters

A tense, rainy primary night in New York underscored how far the city’s Democratic politics have shifted left under Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In four closely watched races, candidates backed by Mamdani defeated entrenched incumbents and establishment figures, many of them outspoken critics of Israel. For Jewish and pro-Israel voters, the results read as a stark warning that the old Democratic consensus in New York is breaking apart.

The biggest upset came in Congressional District 10, where former city comptroller Brad Lander, a close Mamdani ally, ousted incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman by nearly 30 points. Lander campaigned heavily on Gaza, accused Israel of genocide, and vowed to oppose all military aid to Israel, including Iron Dome. In District 7, socialist state Assembly member Claire Valdez beat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in a district dubbed New York’s “communist corridor.” Valdez backs the “Not on our dime” bill, which would bar New York nonprofits from funding West Bank settlements, and promised to be a “nuisance” to House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

In the tight District 13 race, young Columbia activist Darialysia Avila Chevalier defeated veteran Rep. Adriano Espaillat with 49.4 percent to 45.9 percent. She had helped organize anti-Israel tent encampments at Columbia, once deleted an old Twitter account that called Joe Biden a “rapist,” and said she would sign a bill banning the sale of offensive bombs to Israel. At her victory speech, amid chants of “Free Palestine,” she declared, “Today old politics died!” and said AIPAC had “spent millions” against her because she is “a proud Afro-Latina Muslim.”

The night also brought a win for Donald Trump in a Republican primary upstate, where his pick Anthony Constantino defeated establishment candidate Robert Smullen for the seat vacated by Elise Stefanik. In Manhattan’s heavily Jewish District 12, meanwhile, the race to replace retiring Jerry Nadler drew nearly $50 million and remains close, with state Assembly member Micah Lasher holding a narrow lead over Alex Bores. The only clear pro-Israel bright spot was state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who beat two progressive challengers attacking his office’s Israel bond investments by a wide margin.