JUNE 23, 2026
New York Democratic primaries test Mamdani's political reach, featuring AI industry spending and ideological battles within the party
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed three left-wing congressional candidates — Darializa Avila Chevalier in the 13th District, Brad Lander in the 10th District, and Claire Valdez in the 7th District — all running against Democratic incumbents or establishment-backed opponents. The primaries, held June 23, also coincided with elections in Maryland, Utah, and a Republican gubernatorial runoff in South Carolina. New York's 12th District race, to succeed retiring Rep. Jerrold Nadler, drew national attention both for its prominent candidates and for becoming a multimillion-dollar proxy battle between interests tied to rival AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, six months into his tenure, placed his political influence on the line Tuesday as voters headed to the polls in a series of Democratic primaries that he has framed as the opening salvo of the 2028 presidential cycle. At a rally last week alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Mamdani said the Democratic Party "for too long has seen its job as explaining why we cannot instead of showing how we can," and added: "When does the race for 2028 begin? It starts now. It starts on Tuesday."
The three House races Mamdani backed drew the sharpest contrasts. In the 13th District, educator and immigrant rights activist Darializa Avila Chevalier challenged Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who is backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. In the 10th District, former city comptroller Brad Lander took on Rep. Dan Goldman, who has the support of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And in the 7th District, state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez faced Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, the preferred successor of retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez. Avila Chevalier, Valdez, and Mamdani are all members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Chevalier described a potential victory as the "domino" that could build "socialist power" nationwide, according to Fox News.
The 12th District race to succeed Nadler developed along a separate track. What began as a celebrity-studded contest featuring JFK grandson Jack Schlossberg and former Republican lawyer George Conway evolved into one of the most expensive House primaries in state history, with at least $26 million spent on television ads, according to The Washington Post. State Assemblyman Alex Bores, who shepherded New York's AI safety law — the RAISE Act — through the legislature last year, became the target of super PACs funded by investors tied to OpenAI, while a PAC backed by Anthropic spent more than $4 million in TV ads supporting him. State Assemblyman Micah Lasher, endorsed by Nadler, Hochul, and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who poured in more than $8 million in ads, emerged as Bores's principal rival. Mamdani, a constituent of the 12th District, declined to endorse in the race.