Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed the full slate of New York City Democratic Socialists of America candidates on May 15, the organization announced, weeks after appearing alongside NYC-DSA at a rally in the Bronx calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to raise taxes on the wealthy. Among the endorsed candidates is Christian Celeste Tate, a community organizer running in State Assembly District 54, which covers parts of Bushwick and East New York including Cypress Hills and City Line.
The endorsement spans candidates running for state assembly and Congress from across the five boroughs. NYC-DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo said in the organization’s announcement that the backing from Sanders underscores the strategic importance of expanding the socialist presence in Albany. “Kathy Hochul has proven to be an ineffective, out of touch leader that can be forced to occasionally do the bare minimum against the will of her billionaire donors,” Gordillo said. “NYC-DSA is proud of our existing socialists in office who have delivered historic wins for New Yorkers. Bernie’s endorsement of our full slate this year reminds us all that building a strong socialist bloc in the state legislature is essential for delivering the affordability agenda that inspired millions of New Yorkers.”
Co-chair Grace Mausser pointed to democratic socialist governance as a proof of concept. “Zohran has proven that when democratic socialists lead, we can govern responsibly without sacrificing essential programs,” Mausser said. “But we need more than a balanced budget. We need a state government that answers to democratically mandated and historically popular policies that all New Yorkers would benefit from: fully funded universal childcare, fully funded healthcare and food assistance, housing that New Yorkers can afford, and an end to ICE kidnappings.”
Tate, whose district includes Bushwick, is running on a platform of keeping residents in their homes, defending neighbors from immigration enforcement, and investing in public safety through community resources. The full NYC-DSA slate also includes Conrad Blackburn, a public defender running in Harlem’s Assembly District 70; Eon Huntley, a tenant and community organizer running in Assembly District 56 covering Bed-Stuy and northern Crown Heights; Aber Kawas, a Palestinian community organizer running in Queens Senate District 12; David Orkin, a workers’ rights attorney running in Queens Assembly District 38; Samantha Kattan, a tenant organizer running in Assembly District 37; Illapa Sairitupac, a tenant organizer running in Assembly District 65 on the Lower East Side and Chinatown; Diana Moreno, running in Assembly District 36; and Adam Bojak, a family court and housing rights attorney running in Assembly District 149.
Across the slate, shared platform planks include taxing the wealthy to fund universal childcare and healthcare, strengthening tenant protections, and opposing federal immigration enforcement at the state level. Orkin, whose Queens district includes a large immigrant worker population, is specifically focused on raising labor standards for gig, cash economy, and freelance workers. Sairitupac is backing the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, known as TOPA, which would give tenants the right to buy their building when a landlord puts it up for sale.
NYC-DSA is the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, which the organization describes as the largest socialist organization in the United States with over 85,000 members nationally. The New York City chapter counts more than 14,000 members. Primary elections in New York are scheduled for June 2026.
Featured image: Gage Skidmore / Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
