New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani demonstrated increased political influence by endorsing three progressive candidates in Democratic U.S. House primaries, all of whom won on Tuesday. Mamdani stated his goal was electing “better Democrats” who would “put working people back at the heart of politics.” State Assembly Member Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat. Democratic U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat lost his reelection bid to Darializa Avila Chevalier, described as a democratic socialist with no prior public office experience. Former city comptroller Brad Lander defeated U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman. All three candidates are expected to win their districts in January.
In a Manhattan Democratic primary for retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler’s seat, competing factions of the artificial intelligence industry spent heavily on opposing sides. New York Assemblyman Alex Bores, a former Palantir employee who had pushed sweeping state-level AI regulation legislation, prompted a political group financed by OpenAI investors to spend more than $7 million in attack advertising. An opposing group connected to Anthropic countered with more than $10 million in support. Bores did not advance, with Assemblymember Micah Lasher winning the primary after criticizing Bores for potential industry influence.
In Republican races, President Donald Trump adjusted his strategy after earlier endorsement losses in governor primaries. After initially endorsing Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in South Carolina, Trump added an endorsement of state Attorney General Alan Wilson for the runoff, stating he could not risk harming one endorsement with exclusive support for another. Wilson won the runoff, attributed partly to Trump’s dual endorsement.
In Utah, redistricting created a newly Democratic-leaning district in the Salt Lake City area, prompting former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams to adjust his political positioning toward progressive stances on abortion rights compared to his prior moderate positioning. In Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore won his party’s primary for reelection after taking office in 2023, while Republicans selected Dan Cox, who campaigned on tax cuts and housing affordability programs.
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