The marquee race on the Democratic primary ballot in Bushwick, Williamsburg and Ridgewood is an open congressional seat. In New York’s 7th Congressional District, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Assembly Member Claire Valdez, City Councilmember Julie Won and public defender Vichal Kumar are competing for the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, according to the Brooklyn Paper and the Queens Chronicle.
The seat covers some of the most progressive turf in the country, stretching from Williamsburg to Bushwick, Ridgewood and beyond, and the New York Daily News described the contest as a progressive civil war between Valdez and Reynoso. Valdez was the first elected official to endorse Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, and Mamdani backed her in return, even as Velázquez sided with Reynoso to succeed her, per the Daily News. The paper reported that Mamdani is viewed favorably by about 80% of NY-07 voters, that he cut a Knicks-themed ad with his endorsed candidates, and that Sen. Bernie Sanders joined them for a get-out-the-vote rally the day after the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade.
Mamdani endorsed progressive challengers in two other deep-blue districts, the Daily News reported: ex-Comptroller Brad Lander, who was widely favored to unseat Rep. Dan Goldman in NY-10 spanning brownstone Brooklyn and lower Manhattan, and Darializa Avila Chevalier in upper Manhattan’s NY-13.
That uptown race turned bitter. The New York Amsterdam News reported that five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican American to serve in Congress, and Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old organizer backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats, traded accusations over campaign money and ICE in a WNYC radio forum. Espaillat accused her of accepting Texas-based dark money; she pointed to his donations from AIPAC and his votes for spending bills that funded ICE. Espaillat was endorsed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, per the Amsterdam News.
Closer to home, Bushwick and parts of Queens make up state Senate District 12, where Assemblyman Steven Raga and organizer Aber Kawas are running to replace Sen. Mike Gianaris, who is not seeking reelection, according to the Queens Chronicle. Raga’s backers include Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and the good-government group Citizens Union; Kawas, a democratic socialist and daughter of Palestinian immigrants, is backed by Mamdani, Sanders and the DSA.
Other Brooklyn incumbents drew progressive challengers. In Assembly District 56 in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, retail worker and Democratic Socialist Eon Huntley is running against Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman with support from Councilmember Chi Ossé and the Working Families Party, the Brooklyn Paper reported. The WFP is also backing activist Jibreel Jalloh against Assembly Member Jaime Williams in AD-59.
In Queens, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faces two Democratic challengers, energy executive Felipe García and former Wall Street insurance executive Marty Dolan, both pitching themselves as moderate alternatives in NY-14, according to Noticia. Federal filings cited by Noticia show Ocasio-Cortez with nearly $15 million on hand, against roughly $8,000 for Dolan and about $4,000 for García. In an open Assembly seat centered on Woodside’s District 30, community leader Somnath Ghimire is running to become the first Nepali-American in Albany from a district with the largest Nepali population in the U.S., Khasokhas reported.
Statewide, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli drew Democratic challengers, and the governor’s primaries were canceled after challengers withdrew, leaving Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Bruce Blakeman as their parties’ nominees, per the Amsterdam News. On Long Island, Rep. Tom Suozzi faced public defender Danielle Welch in the NY-03 Democratic primary while Republicans Greg Hach and Mike LiPetri competed for the nomination, the Long Island Press reported.
New York runs closed primaries, so only voters registered with a party can cast a ballot. Early voting ran June 13 to 21, and Primary Day was Tuesday, June 23, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., per the Brooklyn Paper and Queens Chronicle. Voters can find their poll site at findmypollsite.vote.nyc. The general election is Nov. 3.
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