NEWS — Published June 30, 2026 · By Roe Baynes · 5 Min Read
On June 23, three candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America won their Democratic primaries, knocking off two sitting House incumbents in the process. It was the largest single-night gain for the Democratic Party’s socialist wing in years, and it landed like a thunderclap in a party already wrestling with its own direction heading into the November midterms.
By the next morning, the results had drawn a furious response from President Trump, a defensive shrug from Democratic leadership, and a public counter-pledge from more than a dozen moderate Democrats determined not to let the socialists define the party.
The Three Races
The night’s biggest upset came in New York’s 13th Congressional District, which covers Upper Manhattan, Harlem, and parts of the Bronx. There, 32-year-old Darializa Avila Chevalier — a doctoral student at the City University of New York and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America — defeated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the 71-year-old chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Avila Chevalier took roughly 49.4% of the vote to Espaillat’s 46%, according to the Associated Press. If she wins the safely Democratic seat in November, as expected, she is projected to become the first Dominican-American woman to serve in Congress.
She was not alone. Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, also backed by Mamdani, defeated Rep. Dan Goldman. And New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez, another DSA member and former union organizer, beat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for the seat long held by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez.
The defeat made Espaillat the sixth House incumbent to lose renomination this cycle — a striking number, and one that establishment Democrats are watching nervously.
The Mamdani Factor
The common thread running through all three wins was Zohran Mamdani. Avila Chevalier’s campaign had largely flown under the radar, both nationally and in New York City, until the mayor endorsed her last month. His campaign-trail appearances injected her bid with momentum on the heels of his own history-making mayoral victory.
The endorsement also came with some drama. According to reporting from The New York Times and Politico, Mamdani had initially promised to back Espaillat before reversing course and supporting his challenger; Mamdani’s campaign did not comment on the reported arrangement.
Pressed the next day on whether the socialist wave could damage the Democratic brand, Mamdani waved off the concern. “I think, what is the Democratic Party if not its voters?” he said, framing the results as ordinary Democrats choosing “a new kind of politics.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries likewise brushed aside worries that the progressive wins would hurt the party.
Trump Sounds the Alarm
President Trump seized on the results immediately. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Communism is the Greatest Threat to our Country since World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or 9/11!”
He expanded on the theme at a rally, mocking the appeal of socialist promises before predicting their collapse. “I’d be the greatest communist in history,” Trump said, riffing that he could win any election simply by promising free rent, free food, and free housing. “The problem is, after two or three years, the country is a disaster area. The country fails. They always do… But you’ll start living in squalor.” He cast the New York results as a national warning, insisting the trend would not stop with New York.
The Democratic Split
The wins exposed a fault line that Democrats have so far struggled to manage. Just days after the primaries, 13 moderate House Democrats and candidates — led by Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York — announced a centrist pledge called “Promise to America”, explicitly declaring themselves “capitalist, not socialist” and backing secure borders, fiscal discipline, and national pride.
“We’re for capitalism, not socialism. We’re for safety, not lawlessness. We’re proud of America, not ashamed of America,” Suozzi told Fox & Friends, adding that moderates need to organize as effectively as the party’s far-left and the right have. The signers cast the pledge as a course correction; the DSA fired back on social media, attacking the group over its donors.
For her part, Avila Chevalier declined to engage with Republican efforts to brand her a communist. “That framing is one that I’ve been very proud to be able to say I don’t respond to,” she said on MS NOW, arguing her platform was rooted in the Democratic Party’s working-class base.
What It Means
All three winners are heavy favorites in November, running in districts that lean solidly Democratic. Barring a surprise, they’ll head to Washington as part of the largest socialist bloc in modern congressional history — a development that energizes the party’s left, alarms its center, and hands Republicans a ready-made line of attack for the midterms.
The fight over what the Democratic Party stands for is no longer theoretical. It’s playing out, race by race, in real time.
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