Two Democratic Socialists of America members backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won congressional primaries Tuesday night, all but guaranteeing them seats in the next Congress and prompting President Trump to warn that the states these candidates govern will "only get worse."
The results amounted to a clean sweep for the progressive left in New York City. State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Former Mamdani campaign staffer Darializa Avila Chevalier knocked off five-term incumbent Adriano Espaillat, the leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. And former city Comptroller Brad Lander crushed Rep. Dan Goldman by a two-to-one margin in New York's 10th Congressional District.
Because the districts are overwhelmingly Democratic, the primaries function as the general election. Valdez and Avila Chevalier are now all but certain to join the U.S. House when the 120th Congress convenes in January, doubling the DSA caucus from its current two members, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
Trump did not wait long. As the New York Post reported, the president posted on Truth Social Tuesday night:
"Many Communists running in badly failing Blue States. The votes seem to have them doing quite well against each other. The bad news is that history has conclusively shown that the downtrodden States that they will soon be running will ONLY GET WORSE."
Early Wednesday, he followed up: "America the Beautiful will NEVER be a Communist Country!!!"
Trump also took direct aim at Goldman, who served as lead counsel for the president's first impeachment in 2019. In a separate post, Trump called Goldman "weak and pathetic" and added: "I guess people didn't like him illegally targeting President TRUMP. In any event, this jerk is finally GONE!"
The primary results cemented Mamdani's influence over the city's political landscape. The mayor personally backed both Valdez and Avila Chevalier, and his endorsement carried weight far beyond those two races. The New York DSA branch saw seven of its eight endorsed candidates on course to win state legislative primaries, projecting the organization's numbers in Albany to jump from nine to fourteen.
Mamdani's own rise set the stage. He won the Democratic mayoral primary last year in a result that stunned the political establishment, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 43.5 percent of first-round votes to Cuomo's 36.4 percent, according to the Washington Examiner. That victory, fueled by endorsements from Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, signaled that the progressive left had moved from the fringes of New York Democratic politics to its operational center.
Rep. Elise Stefanik offered her own reaction to Mamdani's influence at the time, telling Cuomo's ally Gov. Kathy Hochul:
"Tick tock, tick tock Kathy Hochul... You own this dangerous insanity and are incapable of defeating it."
That warning looks prescient now. Mamdani has since backed socialist challengers against fellow Democrats, drawing fire from party leaders who see their own incumbents being picked off one by one.
The candidates Mamdani elevated are not garden-variety progressives. Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier campaigned on anti-Israel platforms calling for full divestment from Israeli companies and cutting off U.S. arms sales to Israel. Valdez backed the seizure of property from landlords.
Avila Chevalier's positions went further. She stated she does not believe criminal illegal aliens should be deported. She also refused to condemn the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel. Mamdani himself has supported the BDS movement and, during his mayoral campaign, refused to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada."
These are not fringe positions in today's New York City Democratic Party. They are winning positions. And that is precisely the problem.
The Mamdani administration has already generated friction with the Trump White House on enforcement matters. DHS Secretary Mullin recently put Mamdani on notice that ICE agents would be headed to New York for the World Cup, a direct challenge to the city's sanctuary posture.
The most striking result Tuesday night may have been the defeat of Adriano Espaillat. A five-term incumbent and leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Espaillat represented exactly the kind of establishment Democrat who once seemed safe in a deep-blue district. He lost to a former campaign staffer for the mayor, a candidate with no prior elected office.
Goldman's defeat carried its own significance. Fox News noted that Mamdani and Sanders both backed Lander in the NY-10 race, and Goldman's role as lead impeachment counsel made his loss politically charged on multiple fronts. Goldman lost by a two-to-one margin, a decisive rejection that left no room for ambiguity about where Democratic primary voters in Manhattan and Brooklyn now stand.
The pattern is clear. Establishment Democrats who once held these seats as personal fiefdoms are being replaced by candidates who openly identify as socialists, who refuse to condemn terrorism, and who reject basic immigration enforcement.
Mamdani's own record in City Hall has drawn scrutiny beyond the primary battles. His proposal to cut 264 school safety agents even as felony assaults climbed in city schools offered a preview of what DSA governance looks like in practice: ideology first, public safety second.
When the 120th Congress convenes, the DSA will have at least four members in the House. Fourteen DSA-aligned legislators will sit in Albany. And a democratic socialist will run the largest city in America.
Cuomo, for his part, left open the possibility of running as an independent in the general election after his mayoral primary loss, potentially complicating November. But in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by enormous margins, the real power struggle is the one playing out inside the Democratic Party, and the left is winning it decisively.
There was a moment, not long ago, when Mamdani and Trump admitted they saw eye to eye on a couple of issues. Whatever common ground existed has been overtaken by a widening ideological gulf. Mamdani is building a political machine that elevates candidates who reject deportation of criminal illegal immigrants, refuse to condemn attacks on a U.S. ally, and call for seizing private property.
Trump's warning about blue states getting worse is framed as a prediction. For the voters, taxpayers, and law-abiding residents of New York City, it may already be a description.
New York's Democratic establishment didn't lose to Republicans on Tuesday night. It lost to its own base, and the people who will live with the consequences had no say in the matter.
