New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is betting his political capital on a bold move: backing primary challengers against three sitting House members, a strategy that could cement his democratic socialist movement's grip on the city's federal delegation or backfire spectacularly and weaken his own authority.
The endorsements, announced during an ad that ran Wednesday following Game 1 of the NBA Finals, target Rep. Dan Goldman in a Manhattan-Brooklyn district, Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the Bronx and Manhattan, and indirectly challenge the successor to retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez in Queens and Brooklyn. Mamdani is backing Brad Lander, the former city comptroller who ran alongside him in last year's mayoral race, against Goldman. State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez is his pick against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in Velazquez's open seat. Activist Darializa Avila Chevalier has his support against Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
"This is high-risk, high reward," said Rebecca Katz, a prominent Democratic strategist who worked with Mamdani during his 2025 mayoral run. "He's not afraid to take some big swings."
The three races are really about who will define the left in New York. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict runs through each contest, with distinctions between candidates turning on whether they use the word genocide to describe Israel's conduct in Gaza and their willingness to accept donations from groups tied to AIPAC. Two of Mamdani's picks, Valdez and Avila Chevalier, are in their 30s, signaling a generational push as well.
All three districts backed Mamdani decisively during his mayoral victory last year, and they sit among the city's most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. In a statement, Mamdani said his endorsed candidates "will fight for everyday working New Yorkers, they'll take on corporate greed and protect our immigrant communities."
Avila Chevalier, who organized at Columbia University's pro-Palestinian encampment, has faced scrutiny over past social media posts. Between 2018 and 2022, she described President Joe Biden as "a rapist" on a now-deleted Twitter account, criticized interracial relationships, and called for abolishing police and prisons. She has said she has grown since those posts. "My values have always been my values," she told NBC News. "But my understanding of how to approach the systems has grown."
Valdez, a 36-year-old Latina and Native American who moved to the city in 2015, emphasized her labor organizing background and consistent stance against what she called the genocide in Gaza.
Political allies say Mamdani is seizing a peak moment. He remains broadly popular across the city and may never wield more influence in local politics. As one strategist working to boost his choices put it, "This cycle he is at the peak of his political popularity where across the city he is broadly popular. An endorsement from him has the potential to be difference making."
Yet the move comes with real risks. The New York Times and Politico reported that Mamdani went back on a private commitment he made last year to support Espaillat after the congressman dropped his backing for former Governor Andrew Cuomo. That reversal could make federal lawmakers hesitant about making future deals with the mayor.
Bradley Tusk, a top adviser to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was blunt in his criticism. "For Mamdani, the actual governing of New York City and the well-being of the people he represents comes a distant second to his political movement and his status as its leader," Tusk said.
The three incumbents declined to escalate tensions with the popular mayor. Espaillat said he respects Mamdani's choice and predicted victory. "We're campaigning, and we're going to win," he said, though he added a warning: "It's important for all executives, from mayors to governors, to have good relationships with the federal government."
Goldman downplayed the endorsement's significance, noting shared work on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal development. "Our job in different positions, in different seats, is to do everything we can for our shared constituents, and that's what I've been doing," he said. Asked if the endorsement complicates their working relationship, Goldman replied tersely: "I am a professional, and I do the work, and the campaign-related stuff is separate."
Velazquez, retiring after more than three decades in Congress, similarly took the high road. "This is America. Everyone has the right to do whatever they want," she said, though she warned that elected officials should avoid alienating federal partners.
A Democratic strategist backing one of Mamdani's opponents acknowledged the mayor's endorsement carries real weight and suggested there will be "personal political implications" for Mamdani if his candidates lose. "That's all Claire Valdez has," the person said of the endorsement. "If she did not have the mayor's endorsement, it would not be like a particularly close race."
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Mamdani is betting everything on his movement's moment, but if these challengers stumble, his brand of outsider politics could take a hit when he needs congressional allies most."
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