In June, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood before a packed crowd at Brooklyn’s historic Kings Theatre, rallying support for a slate of candidates aiming to extend his progressive momentum into federal office. The audience responded enthusiastically to chants calling to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tax the wealthy, and support Palestinian rights. Within days, all three candidates backed by Mamdani—Claire Valdez, Brad Lander, and Darializa Avila Chevalier—won their Democratic primaries, positioning themselves as strong favorites in heavily Democratic districts heading into Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The primaries served as the decisive contests in these districts. Lander, the former New York City comptroller, defeated incumbent Representative Dan Goldman in a race defined largely by policy toward Israel. Avila Chevalier, a community organizer, unseated longtime Representative Adriano Espaillat. Valdez, a New York State Assembly member and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, won the nomination to succeed retiring Representative Nydia Velazquez. Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier also secured the endorsement of New York City’s DSA chapter.
For the three nominees, the general election arrives after months of transition from broad campaign slogans to the legislative mechanics of governance. While their policy platforms share core goals such as abolishing ICE, halting U.S. military aid to Israel, and establishing a single-payer public healthcare system, their paths into progressive politics reflect distinct backgrounds.
Lander’s federal campaign brought him national visibility, particularly as Israel and Palestine became central issues in a district holding one of the largest Jewish populations in the United States. Lander has characterized Israel’s military actions in Gaza as genocide and its occupation of Palestinian territories as apartheid, while also identifying as a Zionist who supports pro-Palestinian activism. Two weeks before the midterm election, Israeli forces detained Lander in the occupied West Bank while he was participating in the olive harvest, and subsequently revoked his travel documents for a planned return visit.
Reflecting on the trip, Lander emphasized that his primary takeaway was witnessing what he described as the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank. Beyond foreign policy, Lander has long advocated for dismantling ICE and reinstating federal subsidies that expired at the end of 2025 to lower health insurance premiums.
Avila Chevalier’s political trajectory was similarly influenced by immigration and Palestinian rights. Following an internship at a youth organization in Nablus in 2014, she became an active advocate. Her platform, termed “Babies Not Bombs,” advocates reallocating military expenditures toward domestic priorities like childcare and healthcare.
Valdez entered progressive politics through the labor movement. A former union organizer turned state legislator, she emphasizes labor protections, supporting federal legislation such as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act to facilitate union organizing, alongside national rent control and broader public healthcare access.
Translating ambitious goals like abolishing ICE or cutting military aid into legislation will require navigating competing interests in Washington. Political strategist Nomiki Konst suggested that the newcomers look for early, achievable legislative wins comparable to Mamdani’s municipal initiatives, such as banning stock trading by members of Congress or leveraging budget negotiations to force votes on healthcare subsidies.
Precedents exist for progressive New York lawmakers working across the aisle on targeted measures, such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2025 legislation with Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent.
Avila Chevalier has already encountered local friction, having called for the resignation of New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch following the shooting of a man by ICE personnel while his five-year-old child sat in the vehicle. Avila Chevalier reported being shoved to the ground by police officers during subsequent protests. Despite these tensions, she stressed a willingness to find bipartisan common ground on issues like healthcare reform and data center moratoriums.
As the midterm voting concludes, the central question for Mamdani’s allies is how effectively they can convert their ideological commitments into concrete legislative outcomes.
