The left wing of the Democratic party had a very good primary election season. There were multiple incumbents who were ousted by Democratic Socialists in New York City, and there were even some incumbents who lost to younger DSA candidates in upstate cities including Syracuse and Buffalo.
What does this mean for the Democratic Party, and is the party truly a big tent if some long-time Democrats no longer feel welcome?
Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee, Jay Jacobs, drew an interesting conclusion from the primaries.
“My major takeaway is that New York is still, as far as the Democrats are concerned, a moderate party,” he told Capital Tonight. “Everybody is focused on these wins by the D.S.A. in some select districts and they deserve to be congratulated for that. However, if you look at statewide, [incumbent Comptroller candidate] Tom DiNapoli ran against two very progressive candidates and won by a margin of 2 to 1.”
While Jacobs didn’t directly criticize New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, he did say that the country is at a critical point, and that Democrats need to “keep our eye on the ball” and focus on defeating President Donald Trump and MAGA in general elections, rather than fight among themselves.
“You look at [Congressman] Adriano Espaillat and I think it was just a shame as one example that they felt a necessity to go up against him,” Jacobs said of the D.S.A. running against a sitting member of the House. “I think the candidate that actually won that race, it remains to be seen whether she’ll be a positive force in the House when she gets there.”
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year old community activist, won the NY-13 June primary against Espaillat by a 3.5% margin.
