Three Republican candidates are set to challenge the progressive Democrats who recently secured victories in their New York congressional primaries. Melvin Rivera, Jennifer Moore, and Jomo M. Williams will appear on the general election ballots in November, facing steep odds in the heavily Democratic districts.
Rivera will compete against Queens state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez in New York's Seventh House District. A community activist and tenant organizer for over three decades, Rivera initially ran as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary. He has since garnered endorsements from GOP clubs, with the Dominican American GOP club stating he "represents strong leadership, conservative values, and a real commitment to our communities."
Jennifer Moore is running in the Tenth Congressional District against Brad Lander. A Brooklyn GOP operative, Moore stated her intention is to offer voters a choice following Lander's primary win. "The political earthquake last night of Brad Lander unseating an incumbent has infused interest in this race and my goal is to seize this opportunity and engage more support from voters registered to all parties who oppose Lander’s radical ideology," Moore said. A GOP source described her candidacy as a "last-minute put-a-name-on-the-ballot situation."
Jomo M. Williams is slated to face Darializa Avila Chevalier in the Thirteenth House District. Williams has previously sought other elected offices in New York. In 2021, he ran on the Black Lives Matter Party line for a City Council seat, at which time he expressed support for "law and order" and stated he did not endorse defunding the police, according to Our Town. He also noted concerns about the "brand that comes with a whole bunch of misconduct, a whole bunch of brutalities, a whole bunch of racial profiling, and sentencing and massive incarceration."