Mamdani's Candidates Crushed Hakeem Jeffries' Picks in NYC

Three for Three, and It Wasn't That Close

Let's run through what happened, because the specifics here matter. In New York's 10th congressional district, former City Comptroller Brad Lander decisively defeated two-term incumbent Dan Goldman, who had Jeffries in his corner. In the 7th district, state lawmaker and former union organizer Claire Valdez beat Antonio Reynoso, who had been backed by both Jeffries and the retiring 17-term congresswoman Nydia Velázquez herself. That's two sitting-power-structure endorsements going up in smoke in a single night.

The biggest shock was the 13th district, where Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old public defense investigator and democratic socialist, knocked out five-term incumbent Adriano Espaillat. According to NPR, the AP called that race for Avila Chevalier. Espaillat wasn't some backbencher nobody cares about. He was the first Dominican-American elected to Congress and chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He had a long list of powerful backers. He lost anyway.

All three of these districts are safely Democratic in the general. Lander, Valdez, and Avila Chevalier will almost certainly be sworn into Congress in January. Mamdani didn't just win a political bet. He effectively appointed three members of Congress.

What Mamdani Actually Did Here

To understand how big this is, you need to understand what Mamdani was risking. As The Guardian notes, he spent serious political capital to wade into these primaries, backing candidates who were unafraid to criticize Israel and push ambitious economic policies. This was not a cautious, hedge-your-bets maneuver. He picked sides. He campaigned. He put his name and his movement behind people the establishment was actively trying to beat.

And he won. Cleanly. According to NPR, Mamdani backed candidates who broke sharply with Democratic leadership, and they carried that positioning into victory rather than running away from it. That is not the story Democratic consultants and centrist operatives have been telling themselves about what primary voters want.

The progressive left has spent years being told it's too loud, too extreme, too much of a liability. Last night in New York City, the voters most likely to show up in a low-turnout Democratic primary told that argument to go straight to hell.

Jeffries Had a Bad Night and Deserves to Sit With That

Hakeem Jeffries backed Goldman. He backed Reynoso. He backed Espaillat. He went 0 for 3. That is a brutal result for the House Minority Leader, who has been openly skeptical of the party's left wing and has worked to elevate more centrist voices ahead of the 2026 midterms.

This matters beyond hurt feelings. Jeffries is trying to win back the House in November. His theory of the case requires a certain kind of Democratic Party, one where the establishment controls the pipeline and moderate candidates are the standard product. Last night, in his own backyard, three members of his preferred roster got knocked out by a democratic socialist mayor who just took office a few months ago. That is not a minor setback. That is a direct challenge to who runs this party.

The Working Families Party also backed Reynoso in the 7th district. They lost too. So this wasn't just the establishment getting beat. It was essentially every organized power center in New York Democratic politics outside of Mamdani's own movement getting overruled by voters.

JFK's Grandson Came to Play and Got Sent Home

In the race to replace the retiring Jerry Nadler in New York's 12th congressional district, Jack Schlossberg, 33-year-old grandson of John F. Kennedy, ran hard on his name, his social media presence, and his considerable charm. According to The Guardian, he came up short in a crowded field. Micah Lasher, a longtime New York politician who apparently describes himself as a "nerd", won the primary and is now the heavy favorite in one of the bluest districts in the country.

Schlossberg had generated real national buzz. He is young, telegenic, and carries one of the most recognizable surnames in American political history. None of that was enough. The Kennedy magic, it turns out, has a limit. New York primary voters wanted someone they'd actually heard of in the context of New York politics, and Lasher fit that description better than a guy whose main credential was his grandfather's presidency.

The Rest of the Night's Scorecard

A few other results worth knowing about. On Long Island, Democratic freshman representatives Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen both beat back primary challenges as they gear up for what will be genuinely competitive general elections in swing districts. Cait Conley, a former White House counter-terrorism official and army combat veteran, won a Democratic primary in New York's 17th district to take on Republican Mike Lawler, according to The Guardian.

In Maryland, Adrian Boafo won an extremely crowded primary to succeed Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, who is retiring after his 23rd term. Boafo, a state delegate, beat former US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who physically defended the building during the January 6 attack, and businesswoman Quincy Bareebe.

Down in South Carolina, state attorney general Alan Wilson won the Republican gubernatorial runoff. Trump had originally endorsed Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette before deciding at the last minute to endorse both candidates, saying voters "can't go wrong." That is either magnanimous bipartisanship or a man who didn't want to pick a loser. You decide which seems more like Donald Trump. Also in South Carolina's first congressional district, Nancy Lacore, a three-star navy rear-admiral who was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last year, won the Democratic nomination runoff.