New York City Mayor Endorses Three Candidates in House Primaries

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Brad Lander in three House primaries, Washington Examiner reported. Primary voters head to the polls on Tuesday. Valdez, a democratic socialist, is running in New York’s 7th Congressional District open-seat race against Antonio Reynoso, the candidate backed by Rep.

Nydia Velázquez. Avila Chevalier, also a democratic socialist, is challenging five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District. Brad Lander, a former DSA member, is running against Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th District.

Two of the three endorsed candidates are current members of the Democratic Socialists of America. ” He further said he found “unacceptable in our city” the attempt to use the term Haitian as a slur and cited “trafficking and anti-black sentiment and narratives” directed at Avila Chevalier.

Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is backed by the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Latino Victory Fund, and BOLD America.

He endorsed Mamdani after the mayoral primary. Avila Chevalier has highlighted Espaillat’s backing from AIPAC and was involved in Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampment. She posted a video on Instagram accusing Espaillat surrogates of spreading claims that she is Haitian rather than Dominican.

Velázquez told the New York Times she would not allow DSA to define who is progressive. Mamdani and Lander cross-endorsed each other during last year’s mayoral campaign, and Mamdani reportedly pushed Lander to run for Congress instead of working together at City Hall. Basil Smikle Jr.

Stated that the movement that elected Mamdani wants to grow and expand into Congress and that even if the candidates lose, DSA will continue running races. Mamdani listened as President Donald Trump spoke in the Oval Office on November 21, 2025.