New York: Mamdani, the ‘kingmaker’ in the Democratic primaries
In the financial and economic capital of the US, three candidates backed by the mayor were elected: new faces from the radical left anti-establishment
Zohran Mamdani, from state assemblyman to mayor of New York and now a veritable kingmaker amongst American Democrats, capable of exerting an influence that grows with every election. He is the new key political architect behind the rise of progressive and left-wing factions and candidates, who are staking a claim to a leading role in the party’s renewal in order to defeat Donald Trump and the Republican majority.
The proof came from the Democratic primaries in the financial and economic capital, where, at the end of last year, 34-year-old Mamdani had already swept aside the old guard to become, to everyone’s surprise, the city’s mayor. Three candidates in the primaries for seats in the federal House of Representatives – who campaigned in open defiance of the establishment, including two activists from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – won, and won by a clear margin. Central to their agenda, alongside the fight against social inequality and the abolition of the anti-immigration agency ICE, were harsh criticisms of Israel, including accusations of genocide in Gaza and calls to cease US aid to the country.
Brad Lander, a 56-year-old former city finance commissioner, won 66 per cent of the vote to unseat the incumbent MP seeking re-election, Dan Goldman, in the 10th district, which straddles Manhattan and Brooklyn. This was a shock result, as Goldman had received the backing of major trade unions, such as the Teachers’ Union, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jefferies.
Equally impressive was Claire Valdez, a 36-year-old newly elected state assembly member personally recruited by Mamdani. She emerged victorious in a crucial primary in the 7th district, defeating the president of the densely populated Brooklyn neighbourhood with 56 per cent of the vote to his 36 per cent, Antonio Raynoso, who was backed both by the outgoing Assembly Member Nidya Velazquez – a long-standing progressive activist – and by another left-wing organisation, the Working Families Party.
The desire for change and the rise of a new form of left-wing populism have come even more to the fore in the campaign of Darializa Avila Chevalier, aged 32. She won the primary in the 13th district, defeating veteran MP Adriano Espaillat, who has been re-elected five times to date and had substantial financial resources at his disposal. Chevalier is a first-time candidate, a PhD student and community activist, having taken part in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. She secured 49 per cent of the vote in an area stretching from Manhattan and Harlem to the Bronx, and if she is successful in the general election in November, she could become the first Member of Congress of Dominican origin.
