Checkpoint: Is Mamdani The Kingmaker?
Andrew Lichtenstein
New York City is one of the most progressive places in the country, so winners of primary elections there are usually also the winners of the general elections. The congressional seats held by New York City representatives also carry nationwide significance. Some of the most well-known politicians in office right now, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are from New York. Last month, on June 23, 2026, New York City held its Democratic primary elections, and the results were surprising. Progressive candidates, specifically candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), swept the primaries. Twelve of the thirteen progressive candidates won their primaries for seats in the state senate, state assembly, and the U.S. House of Representatives. The greatest victories for Mamdani and the DSA came from the three primaries for seats in Congress. Democratic socialist candidates Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier won their primaries by comfortable margins in what many are reporting as Mamdani’s first foray into kingmaking in the left wing of the Democratic Party.
Earlier this year, Mamdani took quite a risk by wading into the primary elections. He’s a new mayor with limited political capital, so many expected him to sit out the primaries. He backed the three candidates listed above, and angered other members of his party along the way. Brad Lander ran to unseat Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th Congressional District, which represents parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Goldman is a moderate Democrat while Lander is a progressive and, until 2023, was a lifelong member of the DSA. The major differences between the two are their stances on PACs, billionaires, and their levels of opposition to the Netanyahu regime in Israel. Claire Valdez ran against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Valdez and Reynoso ran to replace retiring Nydia Velázquez for New York’s 7th Congressional District, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Both Reynoso and Valdez are progressives, and, before this primary, Reynoso had far more name recognition than Valdez. In terms of policy, the two were almost completely alike. The difference was that Velázquez backed Reynoso to take her seat, while Valdez, a DSA member and one of the first New York Assembly members to endorse Mamdani in his 2025 mayoral campaign, was the mayor’s pick. Darializa Avila Chevalier ran to unseat another Democratic congressman, Adriano Espillat. Espillat is a long-serving establishment Democrat who also serves as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and was the first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress. Darializa Avila Chevalier challenged Espillat and had Mamdani’s and the DSA’s endorsements, while Espillat was endorsed by many moderate and progressive Democrats and by AIPAC. Avila Chevalier won the primary, and Espillat’s relationship with the pro-Israel lobby was the key issue of the race.
The Democratic establishment has not reacted positively to this new slate of insurgent Democratic Socialists entering Congress, and most of the reporting on the primaries centers on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsements. The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, and Time Magazine all published stories calling Mamdani a “kingmaker” and crediting him with the DSA candidates’ successes. While Mamdani is immensely popular in New York City, and while perhaps Lander, Valdez, and Avila Chevalier may not have won their races without his endorsement, the success of DSA candidates is indicative more of voters’ frustration with the ineptitude of the Democratic establishment than of the kingmaking abilities of one politician. Sure, Zohran Mamdani is charismatic and a one-of-a-kind political talent, but he’s also popular because he gets stuff done. In just the first six months of his term, he’s fulfilled multiple campaign promises and laid the groundwork to fulfill the ones that remain. This places him in stark contrast with many establishment Democrats, who have been unable to rise to the occasion for their constituents amid the Trump Administration's brutal immigration raids, gutting of Medicaid and other services, and provocation of war with Iran. In nearly every election of the last decade, the Democratic establishment has urged progressive voters to “vote blue, no matter who,” i.e., to vote for candidates with whom they don’t align as a harm reduction measure to keep Republicans out of office. The goals of the left wing have spent years on the back burner and, now, as DSA members and other progressive candidates are gaining momentum, they’re being painted as troublemakers and distractions rather than the inevitable results of years of ineptitude. Progressive voters aren’t showing up for Mamdani’s endorsed candidates because he told them to. The coalition that the DSA has spent the last decades developing has finally obtained the strength and numbers to challenge the Democratic establishment. Mamdani’s endorsement of a New York City candidate certainly helps by adding name recognition and political capital to a campaign, but the real appeal is democratic socialism and the prospect of a candidate who will accomplish what they say they will.
DSA candidates winning primaries against establishment Democrats by comfortable margins has become a trend across the country over the last year and is not merely a post-Mamdani New York City phenomenon. On June 18, 2026, Democratic Socialist Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary in Washington D.C. and will likely become the District's next mayor. Lewis George beat out incumbent Kenyan McDuffie, who has been D.C’s mayor since 2015. Lewis George ran a progressive campaign promising to bring a change from McDuffie’s leadership and pledging to push back against President Trump. Earlier this week, on June 30, DSA-endorsed Melat Kiros unseated Diana DeGette in the Democratic primary for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. This deep blue district represents parts of Denver, so Kiros is all but certain to join the House of Representatives after the midterms. In Pennsylvania, DSA-allied state representative Chris Rabb won the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, and he’s now running unopposed in the general election.
The Democratic Socialists of America have more momentum now than they have in the history of American politics. Their success is due to a combination of likable and electable candidates and weak and unpopular opposition in both the Trump Administration and within the Democratic Party. Voters want change, and not only has the DSA promised to give it to them with candidates like Mayor Mamdani who deliver on promises, but the DSA has also shown that change is indeed possible. The success of the DSA candidates of the last year is indicative of nationwide frustration with the current political environment, of the broad appeal of socialist policies, and of the draw of an insurgent movement when the status quo does not serve.
