New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is campaigning for Democratic socialist candidates in two congressional primary races, seeking to extend his influence beyond City Hall and reshape the city’s Democratic Party. The June 23 primaries pit his endorsed candidates against incumbents and establishment-backed rivals, testing whether his political strength can deliver victories for allies. Early voting began June 14.
Mamdani appeared at a Brooklyn park over the weekend with hundreds of Gen Z and millennial supporters preparing to door-knock for state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, who is running to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in the Seventh Congressional District. Mamdani told the crowd that Valdez was one of the few people by his side when he launched his long shot mayoral campaign on a message of affordability in October 2024.
“She didn’t care that I wasn’t polling at all,” Mamdani said, with Valdez next to him. “She was there because she knew what the campaign was going to be about.”
Velázquez, a progressive matriarch, was among the earliest mainstream Democrats to back Mamdani. She wanted to handpick her successor and chose Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Mamdani instead endorsed Valdez, creating a rift. Velázquez said she felt betrayed.
“If we are going to be partners, we have to respect each other,” Velázquez told the Wall Street Journal.
Mamdani acknowledged the disagreement.
“I think it is a healthy thing in our democracy to be able to have healthy and respectful disagreement while being aligned on what the larger fight is, and that’s a fight to ensure that every New Yorker can afford to live in this city,” Mamdani told the Journal.
A recent poll showed Valdez, 36, with a two-point lead over Reynoso, 43, a progressive who has held public office since 2013. Valdez said voters “are looking for somebody who will be clear on these issues and won’t wait to see where the political winds are blowing.” Reynoso, who locked in endorsements from unions and the Working Families Party, said he didn’t begrudge Mamdani’s choice but said the infighting could have been avoided.
“I think that in this district specifically, he has a lot of allies and I think we could have figured something out and not have to have this tension,” Reynoso said.
In the 13th Congressional District, covering parts of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, Mamdani endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32, in a challenge to five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, 71, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Espaillat initially backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city’s mayoral primary but endorsed Mamdani after he won the Democratic nomination, according to a person familiar with the matter. At the time, Mamdani agreed he would back Espaillat for re-election, the person said. Mamdani instead endorsed Avila Chevalier last month.
Avila Chevalier’s past social media posts have become a campaign flashpoint. She wrote a now-deleted 2021 post directing a vulgar insult at then-Vice President Kamala Harris and said she had “no nuance to add.” Avila Chevalier said she made those posts as a private citizen.
“Like a lot of people who were organizing during the 2020 protests, I used language shaped by that moment,” she said. “I have grown since that time.”
Espaillat’s campaign said Mamdani’s support highlighted gaps in Avila Chevalier’s resume. “Voters are now seeing a candidate with few accomplishments, no substantive policy ideas, and a history of reckless online behavior,” said spokesman Reginald Johnson.
Mamdani said he hadn’t seen the posts.
Valdez and Avila Chevalier have the backing of the city’s DSA chapter and share an ideological platform: fierce criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza, support for dismantling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a push for additional affordable housing.
Mamdani is also backing former city comptroller and ally Brad Lander in a primary challenge to Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District, in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, a race dominated by Israel and the Gaza war.
Democratic strategist Trip Yang said Mamdani’s political strength is unmatched. “He right now is the political king of New York,” Yang said. “If he wins both of these races, he’s king and kingmaker, which is very rare.”
Political analyst Michael Lange said victories would let Mamdani flex his power with other federal and state lawmakers. “He can look all these legislators in the eye and be like, ‘You could be next,’” Lange said.