Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran the table in New York last night, with all three of his endorsed candidates winning their primaries.
Brad Lander bested incumbent Dan Goldman in New York's 10th district by nearly a 2:1 margin, with his race being called while he was on the air being interviewed by CNN's Kaitlan Collins. Lander and Goldman's race has been a particularly bitter one, illustrating the deep divide in the Democratic party on Israel, AIPAC, AI and crypto.
Lander ran to the left of Goldman, particularly on the question of Israel's government and the US government's relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu. “You can criticize Israel and not be antisemitic. You can be an anti-Zionist and not be antisemitic. Many Jews are, and many non-Jews also,” he said. He went on to caution others, though, noting that antisemitism is on the rise. “Too often, though, people have started using Zionist as a slur for Jews. You can just check my mentions if you don’t believe me. And antisemitism, it rises with fascism and with war — and we’re amidst both right now. Progressives need to be the people who are standing against this, not looking away from it," he cautioned.
For his part, Dan Goldman called for unity in the Democratic party. “And let’s remember, the enemy to all we want and all that we hope for is in the White House, not in our own party,” he said.
In NY-13, Avila Chevalier was victorious over the current chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat. And in NY-7, Claire Vasquez prevailed over Antonio Reygoso, who was endorsed by outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez.
In other primary results, George Conway went down in flames along with JFK grandson Jack Schlossberg, both losing to Rep. Jerry Nadler's preferred candidate, Micah Lasher.
Maryland candidate Adrian Boafo won his primary in Maryland's 5th District.
I really hope Democratic consultants are paying attention. People don't want the status quo. They don't want watered-down campaign pablum from candidates. They want representatives laser-focused on the needs of working people.
Not everywhere is New York, but everywhere there are working people who don't have health insurance and can't afford their rent and groceries. They're looking for people who will deliver on those fronts.
