It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago that Zohran Mamdani stunned many New Yorkers, as well as much of the rest of the country, by winning the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Furthermore, he did it with a crushing 12-point victory over the heavily favored former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Establishment Democratic politicians were left with their jaws on the ground, wondering what to do next — and how to avoid the same fate.
However, just six months into his term, Mayor Mandani is shocking that same political establishment again, and this time the consequences could significantly affect not just the 2026 elections, but the 2028 presidential election as well.
New York holds its Democratic congressional primary election Tuesday, and not since 1994 — when Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani endorsed the incumbent Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo over his GOP challenger George Pataki in 1994 — has a New York mayor bucked their party in such spectacular fashion.
Even in heavily Democratic New York City, Mamdani’s agenda has thus far proven to be a hard sell.
While Mamdani has endorsed several state legislative candidates, he’s also made a splash on the national stage in three congressional races — backing former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander over two-term Rep. Dan Goldman; community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier over five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; and Assemblymember Claire Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who was endorsed for the seat by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Mandani’s endorsement of Lander is understandable. During the 2025 Democratic primary for mayor, Lander was polling in the single digits when he cross-endorsed Mamdani in the ranked choice contest — a boon to Mamdani’s fortunes and a blow to Cuomo’s. Lander then went on to be a top surrogate for Mamdani in the Jewish community. Mamdani returning the favor with an endorsement can easily be seen as an exercise in loyalty, but also perhaps a little payback to House Minority Leader and fellow New Yorker Hakeem Jeffries, who didn’t endorse Mamdani for mayor until just 11 days before the general election.
But it’s the mayor’s endorsement of the insurgent candidates Valdez and Avila Chevalier that have captured the attention of New York’s political class, as both are democratic socialists leaning hard into that far-left messaging — just like Mamdani.
However, even in heavily Democratic New York City, Mamdani’s agenda has thus far proven to be a hard sell. He won the election with roughly 51% of the vote, and after his first 100 days, his job approval rating was at 48%. His predecessor, Eric Adams, won the office in 2021 with 67% of the vote and held a 61% approval rating after his first 100 days in office. With those kinds of numbers, it certainly does show chutzpah to rally behind anti-establishment candidates. More importantly, it puts his relationship at potential risk with Democrats’ D.C. leadership, which is not beneficial for New York City.
This is all happening as Democrats are on the brink of retaking the House of Representatives, and should Mamdani’s preferred candidates win their primaries, they will be catapulted front and center into the national spotlight by Republicans who delight in painting them as out-of-touch extremists in attack ads targeting swing voters. “This is what will happen if you elect Democrats to the House” is a message that might very well work.
For example, Avila Chevalier attended a pro-Palestine rally on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after Hamas attacked Israel. She had previously refused to condemn Hamas, but told WNYC in June that she does condemn the group. And if Democrats are uneasy about Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner’s past social media posts, they are certainly going to have a huge problem with Avila Chevalier’s post calling former President Joe Biden a “rapist,” and her statement, “I have no nuance to add. [Expletive] Kamala Harris.” (She later apologized for the post, and stated that she voted for Harris in the 2024 election.)
Assemblymember Valdez’s campaign website identifies her as a “proud democratic socialist,” running on a platform of abolishing ICE and supporting both universal rent control and free gender-affirming health care. Sure, these issues might be winners in a New York City Democratic primary, but they are exactly what many national Democrats are trying to move away from.
I have no doubt that Mandani and his political allies — win or lose — will embrace these candidates with a sense of committed righteousness and an eye on staking their claim on the 2028 presidential primaries. That might have even been the plan all along. Just last week in Brooklyn, Mayor Mamdani proclaimed, “When does the race for 2028 begin? It starts now. It starts on Tuesday.”
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