Assemblywoman Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso are vying for the progressive mantle as they battle in a Democratic primary for the heavily Latino NY-07 district that snakes through fast-changing neighborhoods in northern Brooklyn and western Queens.

Valdez, a first-term lawmaker, has Mayor Zohran Mamdani in her corner and hopes to harness the enthusiasm of their shared army of youthful volunteers ahead of the June 23 primary.

Reynoso counters with a long record of achievement, deep roots in the polyglot district and the backing of longtime Rep. Nydia Velazquez, who is retiring, along with a raft of officials and progressive community groups.

It’s a battle for the heart and soul of a leftist stronghold with legions of young voters, many of whom got their first taste of politics in Mamdani’s victory.

“It’s a fascinating race because it’s a battle within the left,” said John Mollenkopf, a City University of New York professor. “There are so many cleavages at work, especially newcomers vs. old-timers, and progressive insurgents vs. what you could call the progressive establishment.”

Many analysts say Valdez is the surprising front-runner, even though Reynoso would appear to be the stronger candidate on paper. Councilwoman Julie Won is also running.

A recent independent poll showed a narrow edge for Valdez over Reynoso with Won far behind.

Whoever wins in the June 23 primary is virtually certain to replace Velazquez in Washington, D.C., representing one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the nation.

“It’s very hard to bet against Claire Valdez in a district like this,” said Michael Lange, a blogger who’s working on a book about the meteoric rise of Mamdani. “All the variables are working in her favor. It’s super young and one of the most transient places in New York. So a nostalgia-based approach is definitely not going to work here.”

There’s no way to overstate the impact of Mamdani’s endorsement. He won more than 80% of the district’s vote in his 2025 mayoral campaign. For Mamdani, the nod amounts to a bear hug for a political kindred spirit in Valdez, who was the first lawmaker to endorse his City Hall run when he was a virtual unknown.

But it’s also a risk because Mamdani is staking a chunk of his own political capital on a Valdez win against the popular Velazquez’s hand-picked successor.

“Zohran is definitely trying to put his finger on the scales,” said Adam Carlson, a Democratic pollster who has seen surveys of the district. “We’ll see how that goes.”

Mamdani’s decision to pass over Reynoso has already provoked a nasty rift with Velazquez, who backed the sitting borough president as her successor and hoped to clear the field for him after more than three decades in Washington, D.C.

In a recent interview, Reynoso branded Mamdani as “disloyal” for not endorsing him after the two met to discuss the race.

So far, another key progressive figure, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), has not picked sides, at least not yet.

There are few political differences between the two candidates, but they represent very different perspectives within the world of New York progressive politics.

Valdez owes her young political career to enthusiastic support from the leftist DSA, which also catapulted Mamdani from his position as a little-known assemblyman to City Hall.

She’s leaning heavily on DSA volunteers who are skeptical of all flavors of the political establishment, including progressive Democrats like Reynoso.

Reynoso, on the other hand, is relying on the support of the more mainstream left-wing Working Family Parties, along with relationships he has forged during more than two decades of activism and work on behalf of local Democratic progressive officials.

A one-time aspiring artist, Valdez, 36, grew up in Lubbock, Texas of mixed Mexican and Native American heritage and speaks passionately about her experience working at fast-food restaurants and other low-wage jobs. Valdez moved to New York as a young adult and, like many fellow newcomers to the city, dove into progressive activism. She grabbed a Ridgewood-based assembly district in 2024 after the Democratic incumbent became embroiled in scandal.

Reynoso, 43, is the son of Dominican immigrants and still lives in the Williamsburg neighborhood where he was born and raised.

A remarkably well-liked figure in the sometimes cutthroat world of Brooklyn politics, Reynoso won a contested primary for borough president in 2021 and cruised to reelection in 2025. Besides Velasquez, he has racked up endorsements of progressive leaders like Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Attorney Gen. Letitia James and respected left-wing community groups who say he has earned the seat with years of work on housing and other issues.

One alarm bell for Reynoso supporters came when Valdez beat him in fundraising in the first quarter, raising $750,000 from mostly small donors, compared to his $630,000, a total some find underwhelming.

Some allies worry Reynoso is running a traditional Democraticic primary race, appearing at ribbon-cuttings and community events, at a time when many progressive Democrats are hungry for a more confrontational approach to politics.

“Antonio Reynoso should be running like an underdog,” Lange says, “and I just don’t think he is.”

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