The dust is settling after a busy primary election in Brooklyn, where candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and Mayor Zohran Mamdani won big in both state and federal races.
Though Brooklyn was home to two closely-watched congressional races and a number of contested Assembly primaries, voter turnout sagged. Just about 137,295 Brooklynites cast their votes in the June 23 election, compared to nearly 340,000 who participated in last year’s historic mayoral primary.
But many of those who did vote leaned left.
Mamdani allies claim victory in NY-7 and NY-10
Queens Assembly Member Claire Valdez won an easy victory in NY-7, defeating her closest challenger, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, by roughly 20%, according to unofficial Board of Elections results.
Valdez, a DSA member endorsed by Mamdani, will replace the retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, who has held the seat for 30 years.
The race was one of several that displayed Mamdani and the DSA’s influence in New York City politics — and it also caused a rift among local progressives, including between Velázquez, who endorsed Reynoso and was one of Mamdani’s earliest supporters, and Mamdani, who threw his support behind Valdez.
Valdez (left) campaigned with Mamdani on Election Day. Photo by Shane O’Brien
Celebrating her victory on Tuesday, Valdez said her success proved that the movement started by Mamdani isn’t going anywhere.
“We haven’t just won an election, we have declared that this movement is durable, that it is growing and that it will not stop until working people are no longer asked to just build the table. no longer just offered a seat at the table, but will run the table,” she said.
Reynoso earned more support in Brooklyn than in Queens, BOE data show, but Valdez outperformed him in the borough by several thousand votes.
Further south, Mamdani ally Brad Lander unseated two-term incumbent Democrat Dan Goldman in NY-10 with more than 65% of the vote, compared to Goldman’s 35%.
Lander, who is not a DSA member, formed a close alliance with Mamdani during the mayoral election and enjoyed the mayor’s support during his campaign.
“I’ve known Brad for some time, first as a colleague and a friend, and over the course of that race and beyond, as a partner in this work,” Mamdani said at Lander’s victory party on Tuesday night. “I knew then what we all know now, and what many of you have known for years. Brad brings a kindness to this work, he brings a sincerity to this work. He brings a vision of politics that is more than what we’ve seen for so long.”
Lander, also backed by Mamdani, won an easy victory over Dan Goldman in NY-10. Photo courtesy of Eduardo Munoz/REUTERS
Lander’s history in the district — he spent years as a Council Member in a district that largely overlapped with NY-10 — seemed to work in his favor, too. BOE data show that he scooped up roughly 72% of the vote in the Brooklyn portion of the district, earning more than 37,000 votes to Goldman’s 13,946.
In NY-9, longtime incumbent Yvette Clarke also fended off challengers Mike Goldfarb and Joshua Bristol, earning nearly 70% of the vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has represented NY-8 for over a decade, went unchallenged. Council Member Chi Ossé mounted a brief campaign for the seat, but ended it last fall after Mamdani urged the DSA not to endorse him.
All four Democratic nominees are likely to sail to victory in November, even if Republicans mount a challenge.
One Democrat, though, is facing another battle. Mike DeCillis, who won the Democratic nomination in NY-11, is attempting to flip U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ deep-red district, which includes parts of southern Brooklyn and all of Staten Island.
DSA members unseat incumbents in the Assembly
Though many of Brooklyn’s Assembly races were unremarkable — incumbents Emily Gallagher, Jo Anne Simon, Brian Cunningham and Jaime Williams sailed to victory, and will likely clinch their seats without issue come November — DSA candidates managed to topple two longtime sitting Assembly members.
Eon Huntley, a DSA-backed East New York native, defeated incumbent Stefani Zinerman in AD56 after coming within six points of success during his 2024 run for the same seat.
DSA-backed retail worker and PTA member Eon Huntley defeated incumbent Stefani Zinerman. Photo courtesy of Eon Huntley
“Tonight, I see a movement that can overcome billionaire money, transcend the lines they try to draw between us, deliver childcare for all and build a truly affordable future,” Huntley said in a statement. “We’ve been told socialists don’t represent the Black community, that socialism couldn’t win here, and what we’ve proven instead is that the Black socialists are the future. Democratic socialism is about the Good Life for all, and that is what has won tonight, and that is what is going to win in November, in 2028 and on.”
In AD54, incumbent Erik Dilan was toppled by Christian Celeste Tate, who was backed by the DSA and a coalition of progressive lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Council Members Sandy Nurse, Alexa Avilés and Chi Ossé.
Dilan, who has held the seat for a decade, nearly lost to progressive challenger Samy Nemir-Olivares in the 2022 Democratic primary, but held on by just a few hundred votes. This time, he earned just 36% of the vote, while Celeste Tate clinched more than 60%.
In AD59, incumbent Jaime Williams claimed an easy victory over challenger Jibreel Jalloh, a community organizer who earned the endorsement of the Working Families Party.
The race took a turn earlier this week, when Williams’ family members rallied outside her office over a deed theft case they filed against the Assembly Member in 2020. Williams’ mother-in-law, claimed the pol and her husband illegally took ownership of Logan’s home using fake notaries and forged legal documents.
Williams dismissed the claims, and claimed they were spread by Jalloh and his allies. The controversy appeared not to have impacted the race, as Williams earned roughly two-thirds of the vote.
Candidates aim to flip Assembly, Senate districts in southern Brooklyn
In more-conservative southern Brooklyn, both Republicans and Democrats are vying to flip more moderate districts.
AD46 flipped red in 2022, when newly-minted Republican Alec Brook-Krasny unseated incumbent Democrat Mathylde Frontus.
On Tuesday, Chris McCreight won the Democratic primary in the district, defeating Joseph Santangelo and setting the stage for a showdown against Brook-Krasny in November.
In a statement, McCreight said he is “ready for the fight ahead.”
Chris McCreight (left) will face off against incumbent Republican Alec Brook-Krasny in November. File photos by Gabriele Holtermann
“I am running to make New York more affordable, fully fund our schools, protect healthcare, lower costs for families and seniors, and make sure our neighborhoods finally get the representation we deserve,” he said. “Southern Brooklyn deserves someone who will stand up to special interests, take on the powerful, and fight like hell when the system is not working for regular people.”
Meanwhile, in nearby state Senate District 22, Nachman Carl Caller won in the borough’s only Republican primary, defeating Bernard Vaiselberg. Caller’s victory set up a rematch against incumbent Sam Sutton, a conservative Democrat who defeated Caller in a special election for the seat last year.
In one of the area’s few remaining blue districts, SD23, incumbent Democrat Jessica Scarcella-Spanton easily defeated challenger Omar Mohamad, clinching more than 70% of the vote in a district that includes parts of southern Brooklyn and parts of Staten Island.
Judges prepare to take their seats
In a pair of races for judge of the civil court, Janice Purvis eked out a narrow win over Michelle DeSouza, while Susan Liebman won more handily over Abbye L. Lawrence.
Purvis, a Civil Court attorney who spent decades in the city’s law department, was backed by the Working Families Party and local orgs including the LGBTQ-focused Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn. Liebman, meanwhile, had been endorsed by the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and offers pro bono legal services to domestic violence survivors.
With reporting by Shane O’Brien