Two House Democrats from New York City lost their reelection bids Tuesday to challengers backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a sign that the 34-year-old’s political capital remains high six months into his term.

In the 10th District, based in Lower Manhattan and western Brooklyn, Brad Lander was leading Rep. Dan Goldman with 62% to 38% when The Associated Press called the race for the former New York City comptroller just minutes after polls closed at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Meanwhile, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, fell short of winning the nomination for a sixth term representing the 13th District, covering parts of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. Espaillat was trailing organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier 49% to 46%, when the AP called the race for the challenger at 10:38 p.m. Eastern time.

A third Mamdani-backed candidate was also victorious Tuesday with state Rep. Claire Valdez defeating Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the Democratic primary for the 7th District seat, where Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez is retiring. Valdez had 57% of the vote to Reynoso’s 34% when the AP called the race at 9:23 p.m. Eastern time.

Velazquez had endorsed Reynoso, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had backed Goldman and Espaillat. Both Avila Chevalier and Valdez had the endorsement of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Lander, Avila Chevalier and Valdez will each be heavily favored to prevail in November, given the deep-blue lean of their districts. The results mark a significant victory for the far left in New York City, which appears to still be on the ascendant months after Mamdani upended the political scene with his mayoral win last year.

Meanwhile, a handful of other competitive House primaries in New York were also decided Tuesday. State Assemblymember Micah Lasher is poised to succeed his former boss, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, after winning a crowded Democratic primary for the Manhattan-based 12th District. And in the 17th District, north of New York City, Army veteran Cait Conley won the Democratic nomination to take on GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, one of the party’s top targets this fall.

The Mamdani effect

Lander entered the race against Goldman vowing to be an ally to Mamdani in Washington. A former New York City council member, Lander placed third in last year’s Democratic mayoral primary, in which he and Mamdani cross-endorsed each other and urged their supporters to rank the other second under the city’s ranked-choice voting system.

“I promise to go out every single day and fight for my constituents and the values that they have, because we need a country that stands up for working people, doesn’t make it so hard to live here,” Lander said Tuesday night in a CNN interview during which he learned the race had been called in his favor.

The 10th District primary put a significant spotlight on views of Israel within the Democratic Party. Goldman’s support for Israel has drawn criticism from the left, with Lander criticizing him for voting to send U.S. military aid to Israel and for not calling the country’s actions in Gaza a genocide.

“I do think it says Democratic voters want to reset the U.S. relationship with Israel. They don’t want a foreign policy that compromises on anyone’s humanity,” Lander said Tuesday on CNN.

When he launched his campaign, Lander said the challenges facing New York City wouldn’t be solved “by doing AIPAC’s bidding,” referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which endorsed Goldman but did not appear to make any independent expenditures on his behalf. Goldman also had the backing of J Street, a more liberal pro-Israel group.

A former federal prosecutor, Goldman rose to prominence as Democrats’ lead counsel during Donald Trump’s first impeachment proceedings. A member of the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, he was first elected in 2022 after winning a crowded Democratic primary in which several candidates split the progressive vote.

The race stayed tense until the end. Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said on social media Monday that her office was investigating after a branch of Poetica Coffee posted a photo of Goldman at its Williamsburg, Brooklyn, store with a message that the store does not “serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers or anyone in between.”

Goldman, who said he had taken his daughter to use the bathroom and bought a coffee to thank the barista, said Tuesday he didn’t think the incident necessitated a federal investigation, according to The New York Times.

Like Lander, Avila Chevalier also received a bump this spring when Mamdani endorsed her over Espaillat, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who retained the support of many progressives.

Avila Chevalier’s campaign came under scrutiny over her past social media posts that have since been deleted, including posts attacking Democratic officials such as former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris. The candidate has sought to distance herself from the posts and focus on other issues.

U.S. policy toward Israel was also a factor in the race, with Avila Chevalier, a vocal critic of Israel, attacking Espaillat over his support from AIPAC.

In 2016, Espaillat became the first Dominican American and the first former undocumented immigrant elected to Congress, succeeding retiring Democratic Rep. Charles B. Rangel. Espaillat had twice previously challenged Rangel, falling short in the 2012 and 2014 primaries.

Avila Chevalier is also of Dominican descent, though her heritage became the target of attacks by allies of the congressman, the New York Times reported.

Wins for the establishment

In two other closely watched Democratic primaries, candidates tied more closely to the party establishment prevailed Tuesday night.

In the deep-blue 12th District, Lasher had 39% of the vote when the AP called the race shortly after 10 p.m. Eastern time. Trailing behind were state Assemblymember Alex Bores with 35%, social media influencer and Kennedy heir Jack Schlossberg (11%), public health expert Nina Schwalbe (7%) and former conservative lawyer turned Trump critic George Conway (6%).

Lasher emphasized his public service credentials, having previously worked for several top New York officials. Besides Nadler, he had the support of Gov. Kathy Hochul and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who funded a super PAC to boost his campaign.

The 12th District race drew national attention for its focus on artificial intelligence policy. In the State Assembly, Bores had authored legislation meant to rein in AI technology, which drew major spending from outside groups tied to the industry both for and against his campaign.

“Though we’ve come up short tonight, the example set here was not the one the AI oligarchs intended,” Bores said in a statement. “They set out to make people afraid to stand up to them. Instead, they learned just how ready people are to push back.”

In the 17th District, Conley earned the right to challenge Lawler after winning a crowded Democratic primary and overcoming spending by a Republican-linked group aimed at cutting into her support.

Conley was leading with 51% of the vote when the AP called the race at 9:44 p.m. Eastern time. Her nearest competitor was Rockland County legislator Beth Davidson, who had 29%, while three other candidates shared the rest of the vote. Lawler was unopposed for the GOP nomination.

The 17th District is a rare Republican-held House seat that Harris carried in 2024. Democrats are hoping an improved political environment this fall will help them knock off Lawler, who first came to Congress four years ago by ousting the then-chair of the House Democratic campaign arm.

“I didn’t serve this country to watch it get sold out by a career politician who would rather protect his party than his constituents,” Conley said in a Tuesday night statement.

Still, Republicans are optimistic that Lawler remains a good fit for the lower Hudson Valley district.

“Overly scripted soundbites and hyper partisan name-calling backed by millions of dollars from Washington, DC party bosses might win a primary against underfunded local challengers, but it’s not going to win the nation’s most-watched congressional race against someone, like me, with a proven bipartisan record of delivering for this district during both the Biden and Trump administrations,” Lawler said in a statement.

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race a Toss-up.

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