Zohran Mamdani-backed candidates sweep establishment Democrats in key primaries
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Zohran Mamdani-backed candidates sweep establishment Democrats in key primaries")
Democratic Congressional Candidate Brad Lander takes the stage with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after winning the 10th District Democratic primary in Brooklyn on June 23, 2026, Photograph: (AFP)
Candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani scored major victories in Democratic primaries, defeating establishment figures and highlighting the growing influence of the Democratic Socialist movement.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani backed candidates sweeping the Democrats' primary in an election with the primary agenda of the US relationship with Israel, dealing a major blow to the establishment Democrats. Two sitting US representatives were defeated in their deep blue districts. Darializa Avila Chevalier toppled five-term incumbent Adriano Espaillat in NY-13, and former city comptroller Brad Lander routed two-term incumbent Dan Goldman in NY-10; both of them were backed by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. In NY-7, state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. On the other hand, Trump-backed state Attorney General Alan Wilson also scored a win in the South Carolina gubernatorial primary, preserving his good primary record, except for the gubernatorial candidates inIowaandGeorgia, Randy Feenstra and Burt Jones, respectively, who lost their primaries.
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A resurgence of left politics in the Democrats
From New York to Seattle, DC, more cities are picking Democratic Socialist leaders. In November 2025, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election, and Katie Wilson, an unknown “organiser”, became Seattle's mayor. Earlier this month, Nithya Raman advanced to the Los Angeles mayoral race, and Janeese Lewis George, a far-left Democratic Socialist, advanced to the Washington, DC mayoral election. Now, Mamdani-backed Democratic candidates toppled the traditional establishment democrats. Mamdani, previously, while endorsing candidates in the primary, ripped the Democratic establishment for being stuck in an old way of thinking.
“Frankly, it will lose in South Carolina and New Hampshire,” he said, referencing traditional early presidential primary states. “It will fall short of 270 electoral votes, because the party of the past will not be what leads us into the future.”
This is a direct headache for the traditional Democrat Liberals like Kathy Hochul and Hakeem Jeffries, whose endorsed candidates lost the primaries. The primary served as a direct battle for the billionaire and Israeli donors, against the anti-billionaires and anti-Israeli camp, as the Democrat party is increasingly getting polarised into two camps.
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