Progressive and DSA-backed candidates sweep three New York City Democratic House primaries, unsettling party establishment

Three candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America won Democratic primaries for safe U.S. House seats in New York City on June 23, defeating two incumbents and overcoming the preferred picks of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller and ex-DSA member who left the organization in 2023 over its response to the October 7 Hamas attack, defeated Rep. Dan Goldman by more than 30 points. Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Columbia University PhD student, ousted five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat — himself a progressive — in the heavily Dominican 13th District. State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez won the open 7th District seat, defeating Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. All three face heavily favorable general-election maps in deep-blue districts.

Politico led with the reaction from moderate Democrats, framing the results as part of a broader progressive winning streak that has alarmed centrists ahead of competitive fall races. The outlet quoted moderate strategist Matt Bennett of Third Way warning that progressives' wins in safe seats do not reflect broader Democratic voter preferences, and quoted WelcomePAC co-founder Liam Kerr saying centrists "haven't been scared enough." Politico also noted that establishment-backed candidates prevailed in several battleground primaries on the same night, including a New York seat targeting GOP Rep. Mike Lawler.