Mamdani-backed socialist prevails in crowded primary to replace retiring rep

Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Council Member Julie Won in the primary

2026-06-23T21:30:20-04:00 / Fox News

By Kiera McDonald , Andrew Mark Miller Fox News

Published June 23, 2026 9:30pm EDT

New wave of Democrats emerges as far-left candidates surge in primaries

Former Libertarian presidential candidate Austin Petersen analyzes the growing influence of Democratic socialist candidates in New York primaries, actively supported by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Petersen argues that the Democratic establishment is “clearly running scared” from this movement, which he sees as a coordinated DSA slate.

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Mamdani-endorsed state assembly member Claire Valdez secured the Democratic nomination Tuesday after defeating a crowded field in the primary for New York’s 7th Congressional District.

The democratic socialist, who had been leading in the polls, defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, City Council Member Julie Won and civil rights attorney Vichal Kumar to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y.

Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, announced she would not seek re-election in November after more than three decades in office.

In an endorsement posted on her campaign website, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised Valdez for supporting him during his mayoral campaign and sharing his progressive vision.

HASAN PIKER CELEBRATES AMERICA BEING ‘CLOSER THAN EVER’ TO SOCIALISM AS HE BACKS NYC CANDIDATES

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed state Assembly Member Claire Valdez in the Democratic primary for New York’s 7th Congressional District.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images ; Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Claire Valdez stood with me on day one because she understands how change is won — by building power, raising expectations and delivering for working people,” Mamdani said. “She comes from the labor movement and knows how to turn struggle into real gains on housing, health care and workers’ rights. That’s the kind of partner I need in Congress, and why I’m proud to endorse her.”

Velázquez, who also supported Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, publicly slammed the mayor in January after he endorsed Valdez over Reynoso.

“Honeymoons are short, and people need to pay attention to the work at hand,” she told The New York Times.

MAMDANI’S PRIMARY WIN EXPOSES DEMOCRAT DIVIDE AS TOP LEADERS WITHHOLD ENDORSEMENTS

NYPD officers arrest New York City Council member Tiffany Caban and New York Assembly member Claire Valdez (right) along with protesters after they refused to leave the lobby of Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office in Manhattan on Aug. 1, 2025.(Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service)

“Primaries sometimes can be a distraction from the work that you need to do,” Velázquez said, adding that the mayor’s involvement “opens up fights” with the people he governs.

Valdez, a vocal critic of Israel, has called to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), expand universal healthcare, raise taxes on the wealthy, boost affordable housing and strengthen unions.

“It’s a district that doesn’t just want strongly worded letters but a real economic vision to win the working class away from Trumpism,” according to her campaign website.

“That’s what Claire will deliver.”

SOCIALISTS CHEER ‘SHOCKWAVE’ PRIMARY NIGHT AS DSA-BACKED CANDIDATES WIN, ADVANCE ACROSS THE MAP

Rep. Nydia Velázquez holds a “Musk Steals” protest sign with fellow Democrats as President Donald Trump speaks during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025.(Win McNamee/Pool/AFP)

Controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker and the Justice Democrats, the progressive group that helped launch Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s insurgent House campaign in 2018, have also thrown their support behind Valdez in the race to represent the district, which spans progressive strongholds across Brooklyn and Queens.

At a Brooklyn rally this month for candidates endorsed by the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Piker called Valdez and activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is seeking to oust five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., in New York’s 13th Congressional District, “giants” of the socialist movement.

“For the longest time, I thought we were so far away from socialism, and we might still be far away from socialism, but we do have an opportunity right here, right now, more than ever before,” Piker said at the rally.

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Piker added that this could be one of many victories for the socialist movement.

“By the end of these midterms, Zohran will seem unremarkable because, by then, we will have elected so many brilliant fighters into legislative offices throughout New York City and the state,” Piker said.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack contributed to this report.

Kiera McDonald is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.