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WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani waded into Democratic U.S. House primaries to boost three progressives over establishment-backed candidates. All of them won Tuesday, defeating two incumbents and essentially ensuring that two self-described democratic socialists will be elected to Congress in their deep blue districts.
The mayor said it was a question of electing “better Democrats” who would “put working people back at the heart of politics.” The approach consternated some in Democratic leadership, but the outcome showcased Mamdani’s rising influence.
Elsewhere Tuesday, two opposing factions of the artificial intelligence industry spent millions on a House race that became a proxy fight over tech regulation.
And President Donald Trump, after two of his chosen candidates for governor lost Republican primaries this month, ensured it wouldn’t happen again. The president endorsed both candidates in a South Carolina runoff — and one of his endorsed candidates inevitably won.
Mamdani successfully flexes political power in House races
When Mamdani took the stage in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, the crowd chanted “DSA,” the initials for the Democratic Socialists of America.
It was just the latest sign of an ascendant political movement, and two of the candidates successfully backed by Mamdani are democratic socialists.
In the primary for retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat, state Assembly Member Claire Valdez beat out Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Valdez was endorsed by Mamdani, and Reynoso was endorsed by Velázquez.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat lost his bid for reelection to Darializa Avila Chevalier, another Mamdani-backed democratic socialist. Avila Chevalier hasn’t held public office before and once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
A third candidate backed by Mamdani, former city comptroller Brad Lander, defeated U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman by running to his political left. The race partly revolved around the war in Gaza, with Lander assailing Goldman for not being critical enough of Israel.
All three victors are expected to win their blue districts, which would also place three Mamdani allies in Congress come January.
Lasher won Manhattan House primary
One crowded Democratic primary in Manhattan had become a proxy battle between two powerful camps in the artificial intelligence industry because of one candidate: New York Assemblyman Alex Bores.
Bores, a former Palantir employee, had cited ethical concerns in leaving the company and pushed one of the more sweeping state-level AI regulation bills in the country. He pointed to that legislation, which faced some industry pushback, as a framework for how he’d approach regulation in Congress.
His entry in the race for retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler’s seat prompted a political group financed by investors in OpenAI to spend more than $7 million in ads attacking Bores — only for an opposing group connected to Anthropic to ride to his aid with more than $10 million.
Bores fell short in the primary, which was won by Assemblymember Micah Lasher, a longtime government hand backed by Democratic leaders. Lasher had criticized Bores by suggesting he would be beholden to the big tech faction that supported him.
“I have some news for the two big AI companies who’ve taken such an unusual interest in who won this congressional seat,” he said Tuesday night. “I won’t be taking my cues from either of you when it comes to protecting our kids, our jobs, our environment.”
Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, and former Republican lawyer George Conway rounded out the field.
