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Seven months ago, Democrat Zohran Mamdani won the race for mayor of New York City, becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor.
Now, a new slate of candidates is testing the Democratic Party’s standing in the most populous city in the United States.
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New York’s primary on Tuesday will reveal the party’s challengers to the November midterm elections.
The vote will decide which party controls Congress, giving lawmakers the power to help or block US President Donald Trump’s last two years in office.
Most congressional districts in New York City are left-wing, meaning the winners of these races are all but guaranteed to win in November.
But other regions, in places like Long Island and the Hudson Valley, are considered deviant. The results of these races are expected to play a major role in determining who will win the majority in the US House of Representatives.
Here’s what you need to know:
When do polls open and close?
Early voting ran from June 13 to June 21. On Tuesday, polls open at 6am (10:00 GMT) and close at 9pm (01:00 GMT on Wednesday).
Israel’s policy is a major concern in Lander vs. Goldman
Progressive Brad Lander, a former New York City manager, struck a deal with Mamdani last year before the New York City mayoral race.
The two candidates endorsed each other, urging voters to list them as the top candidates on their ballots, in an effort to defeat their rival, former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The race paid off, with Mamdani winning an early victory over Cuomo. He later sailed to win the election.
The Mamdani and Lander alliance was an alliance between a well-known anti-Zionist and a well-known “liberal Zionist”, respectively. But both politicians promoted Palestinian human rights in the face of Israeli persecution.
Lander is currently challenging Congressman Dan Goldman to represent New York’s 10th District, an area located in lower Manhattan and north of Brooklyn.
But their opposition to Israel’s policies has become a major factor in democracy. Lander has criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza, calling it genocide. He has called Israel’s plan to control Palestine “racist”.
In order to combat these atrocities, Lander has called for a US arms embargo on Israel.
However, he asserted that Israel has a “right to exist” as a Jewish state and opposes the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. His reputation as an administrator has also come under scrutiny, with Palestinian rights activists criticizing him for investing city pension funds in Israel’s largest security firm, Elbit Systems.
Meanwhile, Goldman has emphasized that he is on Israel’s side, while criticizing the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has said that Israel’s war in Gaza is not killing people and has rejected claims that Israel oversees an apartheid system.
The heir to the fortune of Levi Strauss, Goldman was endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), but he tried to distance himself from the lobbying group, including returning direct donations.
He found opposition from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and former speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
Lander, meanwhile, has the support of progressives, including Mamdani and US Senator Bernie Sanders. The latest polls show Lander leading Goldman, but the margins are expected to narrow in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Mamdani-endorsed Democratic socialists
The two primaries will test the electoral strength of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a group that garnered grassroots support to help carry Mamdani to victory last year.
One involves the race to represent New York’s 13th District, which is located in upper Manhattan and the Bronx. There, the increase in support for the DSA-approved candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier threatens to upset the long-serving Adriano Espaillat, who has been in office since 2017.
The region is diverse, with a large Hispanic and Afro-Caribbean population. It also includes the district represented by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America who upset Joe Crowley in 2018.
But the 71-year-old Espaillat has pushed back against the rise of Avila Chevalier, branding the 32-year-old party organizer as inexperienced and out of touch with the Democratic Party.
He also used his previous tweets, which include criticism of former US President Joe Biden and 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Avila Chevalier has offered a limited apology for his comments online, as he is gaining ground on a platform that calls for change between police, prisons and civil rights activists. He also clearly supported Palestinian rights.
Espaillat, the first undocumented immigrant to enter the US Congress, has also been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s exit, but has advocated a more radical approach to reform.
The most interesting aspect of the competition has been the performance of the Israeli candidates. Protesters, for example, took part in Avila Chevalier’s demonstration in support of Palestine a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Avila Chevalier, however, said he participated in the meeting in anticipation of an Israeli response against Palestinian civilians.
Espaillat, by contrast, has won praise from AIPAC. Records show a high-profile lobbying PAC has spent thousands of dollars opposing Avila Chevalier.
The left’s battle in Brooklyn and Queens
Covering parts of northern Brooklyn and Queens, New York’s 7th Congressional District has also seen a DSA challenger enter the race at the behest of Mamdani.
Claire Valdez, 36, is walking Mamdani’s endorsement against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
Both candidates, it seems, are making progress, and they are boasting about the platforms that will continue in the second Democratic Party Tuesday.
They share goals that include the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the end of US military aid to Israel, among other things, but supporters say they offer different flavors of the left.
Reynoso, 43, supported several labor unions and the progressive Working Families Party, where he won the endorsement of Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who represents the seventh district.
To explain his qualifications, Reynoso pointed to his experience as a lifelong New Yorker who has helped build the city’s administration.
Valdez, by contrast, is from Texas. He moved to New York in 2015 to pursue art and says his experience with the city’s inequality inspired him to enter politics.
For many, he has become a symbol of the young, professional professionals who make up the majority of the city’s population.
Kennedy, a former Republican and AI reformer
The Democratic midterm primary is taking place in New York’s 12th Democratic District, an affluent area of Manhattan stretching from the Upper West Side to the Flatiron District.
Eight challengers are hoping to win the Democratic nomination to replace Representative Jerrold Nadler, and outside groups are pouring millions into the race.
The nominees include Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former US President John F Kennedy. Schlossberg has no experience in elected office, but he has made a huge impact on the Internet with his unfiltered posts.
If elected, Schlossberg would become the seventh member of the Kennedy family to serve in Congress.
Other opponents include Alex Bores, a 35-year-old New York State executive who has pushed AI legislation forward, and Micah Lasher, 44, a friend whose political career began in his teenage years.
Also in contention is George Conway, the 62-year-old former Republican who has become one of Trump’s staunchest critics.
During the president’s first term, Conway’s comments came to light because his wife, Kellyanne Conway, served as Trump’s chief counsel. The two have separated.
Early polls showed Schlossberg in the lead. But the latest polls show that Bores and Lasher have become the leaders.
The Republican threat
The Democratic Party wants to pick up one Republican seat in New York in November.
They have set their sights on Mike Lawler, a Republican who represents a Democratic-leaning district north of New York City, in the Hudson Valley.
Despite the large population in New York’s 17th District, the 39-year-old Lawler narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Mondaire Jones in 2024. Five Democrats are now vying to win Tuesday’s Democratic primary to unseat him.
Two of the opponents took a middle ground, including Cait Conley, a former US Army veteran and White House national security adviser, and Beth Davidson, a state representative.
Then there’s John Cappello, a retired member of the US Air Force, who is running on the challenges he can afford.
Running on the progressive side are Effie Phillips-Staley, who has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, and Mike Sacks, a lawyer and journalist.
Conley is still the winner in the latest polls.
