New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has thrown his weight behind three challengers in New York’s congressional races, taking aim at incumbent lawmakers and their handpicked successors. The endorsements are being framed as a high-risk bid to reshape the party’s left-
On Wednesday, while the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs played Game 1 of the NBA Finals, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran an ad featuring three congressional challengers—then asked voters for something simple: “Get out and vote, this is the team. This is our year.”
It was a message delivered in the bright, familiar rhythm of a sports broadcast. But the move behind it was anything but easy. Mamdani is seeking to put his stamp on the city’s congressional delegation with a trio of endorsements against incumbent lawmakers and their picks. The stakes are being read two ways: either the endorsements help expand the power of his democratic socialist movement—or they slow it down and dent Mamdani’s standing as its public face.
“This is high-risk, high reward,” said Rebecca Katz, the prominent Democratic strategist and ally whose firm worked with Mamdani during his 2025 run. “He’s not afraid to take some big swings.”
Mamdani’s endorsements land in three different parts of New York. In a district split between Manhattan and Brooklyn, he backed former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who joined forces with Mamdani in last year’s mayoral election, in a contest to oust Rep. Dan Goldman.
In another Brooklyn and Queens seat, Mamdani backed state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso—the choice of the district’s long-serving retiring incumbent, progressive Rep. Nydia Velasquez.
And in a district in the Bronx and Manhattan, Mamdani recently announced his support for activist and organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier against Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
In a statement. Mamdani said his endorsed candidates “will fight for everyday working New Yorkers; they’ll take on corporate greed and protect our immigrant communities” and make sure residents “can afford the city they love.” He framed the endorsements as more than personal politics—tying them directly to the kind of representation he wants to build.
That fight to define the left is now colliding with another national flashpoint: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Each contest has become a test of political language and fundraising boundaries. with questions about whether a candidate describes Israel’s conduct in Gaza as a genocide or swears off donations from groups or individuals associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The races are also unfolding in places where New York politics is getting reshaped faster than many longtime residents can process. Mamdani’s endorsements are being directed at three districts where he was able to rout former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in November. and they’re also located in areas among the most rapidly gentrifying in New York City—pitting longtime residents against recent transplants. In two of the races—Velazquez’s open 7th District and Espaillat’s 13th—Mamdani’s preferred candidates are also in their 30s. signaling a push for generational change. too.
At a press conference in Harlem on Friday, Avila Chevalier said: “[H]ere’s what the establishment never understood about Uptown and the Bronx,” adding, “We don’t wait for permission.”
Supporters of Mamdani see timing as the real weapon. They argue that the mayor is broadly popular in the city and may never again have as much sway in local politics. They also point to his role as a face of the left-wing movement that helped launch him into power—while suggesting he feels responsibility for growing it into positions of authority.
A Democratic strategist working on an effort to boost his choices described initial skepticism. “When he was getting started. I was like. ‘dude. this is a lot of capital you’re putting in. ” the strategist told NBC News. “He has put a lot of reputational capital into these races and doesn’t have to, right?. I was a little skeptical that that was the move.”.
But the same strategist then explained why the endorsements could still make sense. “He may as well take his shots as they present themselves. shaping the next generation of leadership here in New York. ” the strategist said. speaking on condition of anonymity. “This cycle he is at the peak of his political popularity where across the city he is broadly popular. An endorsement from him has the potential to be difference making.”.
Not everyone is convinced the cost is worth it. Bradley Tusk. a top adviser to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. said some of the trade-offs are already visible in how priorities are being weighted. “For Mandami. the actual governing of New York City and the well-being of the people he represents comes a distant second to his political movement and his status as its leader. ” Tusk said. “If he loses political capital that hurts his ability to deliver for his constituents. that’s far less important to him than anointing candidates who are sufficiently pure to meet his standards.”.
One concern centers on Mamdani’s own past promises. The mayor went back on a private commitment he made last year to support Espaillat after the congressman dropped his support for Cuomo. as The New York Times and Politico reported and as one person familiar with the conversation told NBC News. Mamdani’s campaign did not comment on any agreement.
The fallout, critics say, is the way it makes lawmakers cautious about striking deals with the mayor going forward. A Democratic strategist working on behalf of one of the candidates against whom Mamdani endorsed put it plainly: there will be “personal political implications” for the mayor going back on an agreement with Espaillat.
The strategist described the impact on the race against Valdez as well. “That’s all Claire Valdez has,” the strategist said of Mamdani’s endorsement. “If she did not have the mayor’s endorsement, it would not be like a particularly close race.”
Nowhere is that tension more visible than in the identity and history of Mamdani’s preferred candidates, especially Avila Chevalier.
Avila Chevalier was an organizer at Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampment and attended a controversial pro-Palestine rally the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel that Lander condemned and Mamdani did not attend. Her social media history includes a deleted Twitter account where. between 2018 and 2022. she described former President Joe Biden as “a rapist. ” criticized interracial relationships and called for the abolition of police and prisons. She has said she has grown in the years since those posts.
Speaking with reporters on Friday. Avila Chevalier said she does not believe it is OK to celebrate the loss of anyone’s life and said she did not agree with some of the other attendees at the post-Oct. 7 protest. In an interview with NBC News. she said her growth in the years since authoring those posts was based on both “getting older” and “understanding a little more how a lot of these systems function.” She also said she did not delete the old tweets one by one. instead deleting her entire account years ago as she was dismayed by the direction of the website.
“My values have always been my values,” she said. “But my understanding of how to approach the systems has grown.”
She called herself “very proud” to have Mamdani’s endorsement, saying it was evidence that her campaign has “built out a serious challenge, and we have been serious about what we’re fighting for here.”
The incumbents, for their part, appear unwilling to turn the endorsements into a personal fight with the mayor.
Espaillat. who won his House seat in 2016 after two near-miss runs as an anti-incumbent challenger himself. said he respects the mayor’s decision to back his challenger and declined to elaborate on the reports of a handshake deal. “That’s his decision. We respect it,” Espaillat said. “I got my decision … We’re campaigning, and we’re going to win.”.
Standing on the Capitol steps. Espaillat added that “it’s important for all executives. from mayors to governors. to have good relationships with the federal government.” He said. “I mean. their budgets depend very strongly on what we do here. ” tying cooperation to the concrete business of governance.
Goldman. who downplayed Mamdani’s endorsement. pointed to collaboration with the mayor on issues. including the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. a waterfront redevelopment project. “I’ve had a good working relationship with the mayor and his office. and we’ve been working on a number of things together to accomplish our shared goals. which is to make life more affordable for New Yorkers. ” Goldman said. “Our job in different positions. in different seats. is to do everything we can for our shared constituents. and that’s what I’ve been doing.”.
Asked if Mamdani’s endorsement makes it harder to work with him, Goldman replied: “I am a professional, and I do the work, and the campaign-related stuff is separate.”
Velázquez, retiring after more than three decades in Congress, seemed to echo a similar approach. “This is America. Everyone has the right to do whatever they want,” she said. “I am supporting someone who is the son of part of the district, who grew up and has been rooted in the community.”
She added that an elected official “shouldn’t alienate federal partners,” arguing, “You need to keep your doors open to work with everyone, especially when the federal government plays such an important role,” she said.
Katz, the Democratic strategist, offered a different framing for why the endorsements may still land. She said. “there’s going to be these people who say. ‘well. that’s not the way that we do it. or that’s never been done before. But Zohran Mamdani would not be mayor if he did things the way that they’ve been done before.”.
Valdez. the 36-year-old Latina and Native American from Texas who moved to the city in 2015. said the endorsement has been significant in her district. “We’re all very supportive of the mayor in his race last year,” she said. “I see this as kind of like the continuation of this movement that won his race last year. We’re running other candidates up and down the ballot, and we’re trying to build power that way.”.
Valdez described the difference between her and Reynoso as “a difference in approach.” She said. “I come from the labor movement and organizing with my coworkers for the things that we deserve on the shop floor and built power that way. and have a really clear and consistent track record on speaking out against the genocide. organizing for a ceasefire. naming the genocide as it was happening. and fighting to end the United States’ complicity in it. ” she said.
The endorsements themselves were delivered as a political statement timed to a mass audience. But what they are really testing is whether Mamdani can keep turning his movement’s momentum into power without breaking the relationships that help him—or his city—deliver.
Right now. the mayor’s swing is still in the air. backed by three candidates in three districts. and watched closely by lawmakers who say they respect his choice while emphasizing the practical need to keep doors open. The next question isn’t only who wins these House races. It’s whether Mamdani’s willingness to spend political capital in pursuit of a particular version of the left will ultimately expand his influence—or make it harder to cash out for the people he represents.
Zohran Mamdani New York mayor congressional endorsements Brad Lander Dan Goldman Claire Valdez Antonio Reynoso Nydia Velasquez Darializa Avila Chevalier Adriano Espaillat NBA Finals ad