When primary elections concluded Tuesday, congressional candidates Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated two Democrat incumbents, Rep. Dan Goldman and Rep. Adriano Espaillat respectively.
In the third primary race, Claire Valdez won an open seat in the 7th District race after that incumbent, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, did not seek re-election.
The primary victories in deep-blue New York boroughs mean all three far-left candidates will likely skate to an easy win in November and head to Capitol Hill in 2027.
In the liberal news media, such as CNN and ABC News, all three candidates are helpfully referred to as “progressive" Democrats. That word is tacit admission their political views fall farther left than even an abortion-supporting, open-borders Democrat.
Among the three primary winners, in fact, both Chevalier and Valdez were not only endorsed by Democrat Socialists of America but also ran for Congress as members of the DSA.
Lander, who is not a DSA member, was nonetheless helped by DSA’s political machine that bragged after the primary about its political influence. In a post-election discussion, a DSA leader bragged the DSA members represent about 3 million New Yorkers after Tuesday elections.
“We control these areas. We have a Democratic Socialist mandate in New York,” DSA leader Osman Chaudhary told fellow DSA members.
Lander was also endorsed by the most prominent DSA member: New York City’s communist mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Rep. Goldman, who was crushed by Lander, has a 100% voting score at Planned Parenthood and similar A-plus scores from the ACLU and the AFL-CIO. He is also wealthy, however, since he is the great-grandson of blue jean maker Levi Strauss and has an estimated wealth of $200 million.
Jason McGuire, president of New York Families Foundation, told American Family News there was also blatant antisemitism that helped Goldman lose re-election to Lander.
Goldman, who is Jewish, is a vocal defender of Israel, including its war against Hamas after its 2021 attack in northern Israel.
"We are seeing some antisemitic, or at least anti-Israel language, that is really becoming a problem for us here," McGuire, referring to New York City, told AFN.
Communist mayor challenged political machine
Mayor Mamdani is being called a political "kingmaker" in news stories for using the DSA political machine to help all three challengers defeat incumbents and win their primary races.
The three primary victories have created political drama in the Democratic Party, however, since incumbent candidates are almost always backed by the party and its political machine. Mamdani openly challenged the political machine, in deep-blue New York City, with handpicked socialist candidates.
Among the three candidates, Chevalier is being exposed as perhaps the most radical for her stances. Years of social media posts describe her belief in seizing private property and private corporations, and “abolishing” international borders, the prison system, and police and law enforcement.
Mamdani, who describes himself as a "Democratic Socialist," is also on record espousing standard Marxist ideology way beyond promising free daycare and free public transportation.
When he spoke at a 2021 meeting of college-aged DSA members, Mamdani urged them to not compromise on socialist ideology if they win political power. The "end goal" of socialism, he reminded them, is to "seize the means of production," a reference to abolishing private business and ending capitalism.
Staying true to his own word, Mamdani himself used the Soviet-era word ""collectivism" in his mayor inauguration speech in January.
Dem senator likes 'new energy'
In a post-election interview, Democrat Sen. Sidney Blumenthal told reporters he welcomed the “new energy” and “new faces” from New York City that he said will benefit the Democratic Party.
“One of the strengths in the Democratic Party is our diversity,” he told reporters. “What happens in New York, ideologically, doesn’t necessarily fit to the Midwest. We are a ‘big tent’ party.”
Reacting to the three wins, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (pictured at right) told the news media a “handful of primaries” aren’t going to “reshape who we are as House Democrats.”
At the campaign watch party for Valdez, however, campaign volunteers chanted “You’re next! You’re next!” at Jeffries when he appeared on a TV screen during a CNN interview.
Reacting to the Tuesday primary results, AFR host Abe Hamilton said the Democratic Party seems to be asleep while communists are winning over its voters.
“The momentum in the Democrat Party, as well as the funding, is primarily behind these radicals,” he warned.
In a X post about the primary races, The First show host Jesse Kelly was one of many who reacted to the DSA's wins. He cautioned it would be a "tremendous mistake" to dismiss what he calls the "communist insurgency" that is challenging the Democratic Party.
"These things ALWAYS start small," Kelly, who has studied Communist history and its revolutions, wrote. "They don't stay small."
