Progressive Democrats defeat incumbent Democratic congressmen in New York primary elections

Darren Lyn and Yasin Gungor

24 June 2026•Update: 24 June 2026

Progressive Democrats in the state of New York made headlines in Tuesday’s primary elections by defeating two incumbent Democratic congressmen.

In New York’s 10th congressional district, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander handily defeated two-term incumbent US Rep. Dan Goldman by nearly a two-to-one margin.

The Associated Press (AP) called the race in Lander’s favor, and with 90% of the vote counted, he led Goldman 65.8% to 34.0%.

Lander will face Jennifer Moore in the November general election. Moore ran uncontested in the Republican primary.

Another major upset took place in New York’s 13th congressional district, where progressive newcomer Darializa Avila Chevalier took down five-term US Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who currently leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

With 88% of the vote counted, Avila Chevalier was called the winner by AP, with a narrow 49.4% to 45.9% margin over Espaillat. She will face Jomo Williams in the general election. Williams ran uncontested in the Republican primary.

In the race to replace retiring Democratic US Rep. Nydia Velazquez in New York’s 7th congressional district, progressive state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez defeated Antonio Reynoso, the candidate endorsed by Velazquez. Valdez will face Melvin Rivera in November. River ran uncontested in the Republican primary.

Lander, Avila Chevalier, and Valdez were all endorsed by progressive New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani, the democratic socialist leader of the largest US city, backed his fellow progressives in a move intended to oust the congressional establishment in New York and reshape the Democratic Party.

In the state of Maryland, incumbent Democratic Gov. Wes Moore easily secured his nomination for a second term with an overwhelming majority of 87.8% of the vote, with 66% of the ballots counted.

Moore will face Dan Cox, who defeated four other candidates in the Republican primary, setting up a rematch of the 2022 gubernatorial race, in which Moore defeated Cox.

In the race to replace South Carolina’s Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who is term-limited, the state’s Attorney General Alan Wilson won the runoff election over Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Donald Trump.

McMaster will face state Rep. Jermaine Johnson in the general election. Johnson won the Democratic primary outright two weeks ago.

In the state of Utah, former congressman Ben McAdams won the Democratic primary over three progressive Democratic candidates in the newly created 3rd congressional district, which was part of that state’s redistricting plan.

McAdams will face US Rep. Celeste Maloy in the general election. Maloy, who currently represents the 2nd congressional district, won the Republican primary over challenger Phil Lyman by a nearly two-to-one margin.

‘Never be a communist country’

Trump criticized the success of Mamdani-endorsed candidates, vowing that the nation will never adopt a communist system. “America the beautiful will never be a communist country,” the US president wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump argued that many of these candidates are currently running in “badly failing blue states,” and noted that while they appear to be performing well against one another in the polls, the states will eventually prove detrimental. “The bad news is that history has conclusively shown that the downtrodden states that they will soon be running will only get worse,” he added.