(The Center Square) — The Empire State took a dramatic turn to the left Tuesday after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's slate of democratic socialist candidates defeated Hakeem Jeffries' endorsed moderates in several key congressional primary races.
Mamdani-backed former City Comptroller Brad Lander soundly defeated two-term U.S. Rep. Dan Golden in New York’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
Claire Valdez, another Mamdani-backed candidate, bested Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in New York’s 7th District, which includes sections of Brooklyn and Queens. Valdez had 58% to Reynoso's 32%, according to Tuesday night's results.
Meanwhile, Darializa Avila Chevalier — whom Mamdani endorsed just days before the primary — ousted five-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th Congressional District to complete the mayor's political trifecta.
All told, nine Democratic incumbents including state lawmakers and two congressmen lost their seats as Tuesday's wave of anti-establishment sentiment fanned by Mamdani set shockwaves through the state's political establishment. Most of those hosted on Tuesday had been endorsed by House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, who was also on Tuesday's ballot unopposed.
"We are showing that last June, a year ago tomorrow, was not an anomaly," Mamdani said in remarks Tuesday night. "It was not the end. It was the beginning."
Republicans ripped Mamdani's big night at the primaries, claiming the election is the latest sign that the New York Democratic Party is being taken over by socialists.
“The Democratic Party of New York has been captured by a movement that is fundamentally hostile to free enterprise, American institutions and the values upon which our nation was founded," New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement.
"The Democratic Socialists of America isn’t just a faction within the Democratic Party anymore — it IS the Democratic Party in New York, and Kathy Hochul, Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem Jeffries are too weak to stop them and too afraid to condemn them," he said. "This is a group that has hosted rallies for Hamas, wants boys competing in girls’ sports and views the free market and nuclear family as things to be dismantled."
The National Republican Congressional Committee sarcastically posted a photo of flowers and a card left outside of Jefferies' Capitol building office, expressing condolences for his loss in Tuesdays primary.
"Please 'enjoy' our Condolences for your incumbents who got crushed by Zohran Mamdani-backed, America-hating Socialists last night," the NRCC posted on X. "The Democrat Party now: full socialist takeover, defund police, open borders and anti-American extremism."
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Hudson Valley Republican who will face Democrat Cait Conley in the November elections, said the results of Tuesday's primaries show that "the Democratic Party has officially become the party of Zohran, AOC, & Bernie."
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