Former President Donald Trump predicted that New York will "only get worse" after two socialist candidates, endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, secured Democratic congressional primary victories in the city on Tuesday.
Trump voiced his concerns on Truth Social, writing, "Many Communists running in badly failing Blue States. The votes seem to have them doing quite well against each other. The bad news is that history has conclusively shown that the downtrodden States that they will soon be running will ONLY GET WORSE." He later added, "America the Beautiful will NEVER be a Communist Country!!!"
One of the victories saw state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez defeat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. In a notable upset, former Mamdani campaign staffer Darializa Avila Chevalier unseated five-term incumbent Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
As both Valdez and Avila Chevalier are running in predominantly Democratic districts, these primary wins are considered de facto general elections. Their victories are expected to increase the number of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members in the House of Representatives to four when the 120th Congress convenes in January. The current DSA members in Congress are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier campaigned on platforms advocating for a complete divestment from Israeli companies and a halt to U.S. arms sales to Israel. Valdez has also expressed support for seizing property from landlords, while Chevalier has stated that undocumented immigrants should not be deported and has declined to condemn the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
New York's DSA chapter also saw success in state legislative primaries, with seven of its eight endorsed candidates projected to win, increasing their representation in Albany to 14 from nine.
Mayor Mamdani's influence as a political kingmaker was further solidified by the primary win of former city Comptroller Brad Lander. Lander, also identified as an anti-Israel candidate, defeated Rep. Dan Goldman in New York's 10th Congressional District by a two-to-one margin.
Trump also commented on Goldman's defeat, writing on Truth Social, "Weak and pathetic Congressman Dan Goldman just lost, BIG! I guess people didn’t like him illegally targeting President TRUMP. In any event, this jerk is finally GONE!"