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New York House primaries test Mamdani’s influence, and more races to watch in South Carolina, Maryland, Utah

2026-06-23T06:00:00-0400 / CBS News

Four states are holding primaries on Tuesday, including New York, with several closely watched congressional races, and South Carolina, with a Republican runoff in the governor’s race after no candidate won majority support in the primary earlier this month.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s influence will be tested at the ballot box, since he endorsed and even cut an ad for his three preferred candidates that ran during the Knicks playoff games. He also spoke at a rally over the weekend on behalf of the three. Voters in Manhattan’s wealthy and powerful 12th District will also be selecting a Democratic nominee.

Voters in Utah and Maryland are casting votes in primaries in their states, too. Here are the key races to watch on Tuesday:

New York’s 10th District

During last year’s mayoral election, Mamdani and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander cross-endorsed each other during the ranked-choice voting process. After Mamdani’s win, Lander threw his hat in the ring to challenge incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, who served as one of the Democrats’ lawyers in their first effort to impeach President Trump.

Goldman won the district, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, in 2022 after a crowded, expensive Democratic primary. (An heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, he is one of the wealthiest members of Congress.) But since then, Goldman has advocated for more support for Israel than other progressive Democrats, which Lander said inspired him to run. Both Lander and Goldman are Jewish, but their differing views on Israel’s actions in Gaza have made this one of the dominant issues in the race.

Mamdani is backing Lander, as are Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are supporting Goldman.

Polling has shown Lander has an edge going into the primary, though such surveys may be inconsistent. The district is heavily Democratic, so the winner of Tuesday’s primary is favored to win in November.

New York’s 7th District

Nydia Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, announced last year that she would retire at the end of this term, her 16th. In her retirement announcement, she took note of Mamdani’s victory, saying, “Americans are hungry for change.”

Her district, which encompasses parts of western Brooklyn and Queens, is part of what’s been nicknamed the “Commie Corridor,” given its leftward tilt. Her chosen successor is Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who is also a progressive.

But Mamdani, who served in the state Assembly representing a nearby Queens district, is backing another Democrat, Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, a fellow democratic socialist.

The race has turned into a proxy fight pitting the established progressive wing of the Democratic Party against the democratic socialists. An Emerson College/Pix11 poll from May showed a tight race.

New York’s 13th District

In the 13th District, which encompasses Upper Manhattan, Mamdani is backing democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was one of his field organizers, against incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat.

Espaillat, 71 and the first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in the House, was not initially considered to face any serious risk from a primary challenger. He’s been in Congress since 2017 and is the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. In the 2025 mayor’s race, he first backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and then quickly endorsed Mamdani after the primary.

Mamdani’s endorsement of Avila Chevalier, 32, shocked the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The New York Times reported that Mamdani had agreed last year to back Espaillat. Hochul, Jeffries and New York Attorney General Letitia James are supporting Espaillat.

In a debate, Espaillat raised some of Chevalier’s now-deleted social media posts, including one in which she said “f*** Kamala Harris.” She has since apologized.

New York’s 12th District

Longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler is retiring, opening up the seat in one of the nation’s wealthiest districts, encompassing Midtown Manhattan and the Upper East and West Sides. In the crowded race, Nadler has endorsed state Assemblyman Micah Lasher, a former aide of his who also has the backing of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Hochul.

The other main contenders are New York Assemblyman Alex Bores, who is running on a platform to regulate artificial intelligence; former Republican turned Trump antagonist George Conway, who says he’ll only serve one term in order to impeach Mr. Trump; and political newcomer Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy’s telegenic grandson and social media star.

Independent polling shows either Lasher or Bores leading, but given the likely low turnout, the outcome is uncertain. It’s been an expensive race, with $26 million in ad spending, according to AdImpact.

Given the district’s strong Democratic leaning, the winner on Tuesday is favored to win in November. Mamdani, now living in Gracie Mansion, resides in the district and confirmed he voted — but he hasn’t revealed who received his vote.

New York’s 17th District

Five Democrats are vying for the chance to take on Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in New York’s 17th District, which includes parts of Westchester County and the Hudson Valley. Leading the field are former Biden administration cybersecurity expert Cait Conley, Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and progressive Tarrytown Village Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley.

Lawler is one of only three Republicans representing a district that Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential race, making it a key target for Democrats. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a toss-up, and Mr. Trump has campaigned in the district for Lawler.

“It’s hard to say any one district is a ‘must win,’ but this one is certainly close to it,” Cook Political Report’s Erin Covey told CBS New York earlier this month.

New York’s 21st District

The bitter GOP primary in northern New York’s 21st Congressional District pits Anthony Constantino, a Trump-backed businessman and political newcomer, against Robert Smullen, a state assemblyman who has the support of the state GOP and other local Republicans. The primary could be another window into Mr. Trump’s sway in the primaries.

Constantino and Smullen are vying to replace GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, who was initially Mr. Trump’s pick for ambassador to the United Nations before he pulled the nomination, asking her to remain in Congress to help the House hold the party’s razor-thin majority. She later announced a bid for governor, but exited the race after Mr. Trump declined to endorse her. She has not endorsed in the race.

The primary has become increasingly tense, with the candidates accusing one another of defamation and threatening to sue each other over claims made during the campaign.

Utah’s 1st District

Four candidates are competing in the Democratic primary in Utah’s newly redrawn 1st Congressional District, which encompasses Salt Lake City and its suburbs — a seat that could help determine the House majority in November.

A Democrat hasn’t been elected to represent Utah in the House since 2018. The new maps made the 1st Congressional District, which is currently held by Republican Rep. Blake Moore, more favorable to Democrats. The University of Virginia’s Sabato’s Crystal Ball considers the seat a safe pickup for Democrats.

The last Democrat to represent Utah in Congress, former Rep. Ben McAdams, is one of the four candidates vying for the seat. He’s up against state Sen. Nate Blouin, political newcomer and Utah Democratic convention winner Liban Mohamed, and tax attorney Michael Farrell.

South Carolina governor Republican runoff

None of the seven Republicans running in South Carolina’s GOP primary for governor earlier this month was able to secure 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette led the field with 29% of the vote, while Attorney General Alan Wilson finished close behind with 26%, setting up the two-way runoff between the top candidates.

Originally, Evette entered the contest with significant political momentum behind her. Both Gov. Henry McMaster and Mr. Trump threw their support behind the lieutenant governor, with the president calling her a “good friend, fighter, and WINNER.” He also posted on Truth Social on May 29: “Pam has my Complete and Total Endorsement — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

On Friday, Mr. Trump posted on social media that he will be endorsing both candidates in this race. He wrote: “I can’t hurt one of them by only endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!”

This new endorsement comes after Wilson picked up momentum in the polls with a lead over Evette. It also comes after these past weeks when Mr. Trump’s previous endorsements in two other gubernatorial primaries did not result in wins. Wilson also won the endorsement of Rep. Nancy Mace, who had also been running in the primary but did not advance to the runoff.

McMaster is term-limited out of office. The South Carolina governor’s position has been held by a Republican for the last 23 years and the seat is reliably red, making the runoff a pivotal contest in determining who will lead South Carolina. The winner of Tuesday’s contest will take on Democrat Jermaine Johnson, who won his primary outright on June 9.

Maryland’s 5th District

After having served in the House for almost 45 years, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer decided not to run for reelection. This has led to a competitive primary with 23 Democratic candidates vying for the seat.

Hoyer has endorsed his previous campaign manager, Adrian Boafo, who is currently a Prince George’s County Democratic delegate. Hoyer described Boafo as “as warm as he is smart, as principled as he is pragmatic.” Boafo has also been endorsed by other prominent Democrats, including Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks.

Other leading candidates include Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer who was present during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Dunn has been endorsed by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who issued a statement calling him “a true American hero and exactly the right person to represent Maryland in Congress.”

Also on the ballot is Quincy Bareebe, who has a thin political career but a lengthy background as an entrepreneur. Bareebe is the CEO of a local healthcare company that specializes in home care and assisted living. Bareebe has largely self-funded her $5.7 million campaign, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Maryland governor’s race

Multiple candidates are on the ballot in Maryland’s Republican primary to face off against incumbent Gov. Wes Moore in November.

Moore, who faces a primary challenger on Tuesday as well, won in 2022 with 65% of the vote and has maintained steady approval ratings throughout his first term.

Republican Dan Cox, who is running again this cycle, lost to Moore by 32 points in 2022. In that race, Cox secured an endorsement from Mr. Trump, who called him “MAGA all the way.” Mr. Trump has not yet made an endorsement in this year’s race.

Also on the ballot is Ed Hale, a former Democrat who thought it would be a “pragmatic choice” to switch affiliations and run against Cox in the GOP primary. Cox has heavily criticized the move on social media.

Cox says he is concerned about inflation and the national debt in Maryland, and that he believes in protecting the American Dream and “securing our borders to combat deadly increases in fentanyl trafficking.” Hale says he wants to freeze taxes to encourage competition and focus on economic growth, “fully fund law enforcement,” and reduce reliance on federal funding. With no public polling available, it’s unclear which candidate is favored to win.

Moore, widely considered a 2028 presidential hopeful, faces a Democratic challenger, Eric Felber, on Tuesday, although Moore is likely to secure the nomination.

Fin Daniel Gómez and Anne Bryson contributed to this report.