Eight New York City democratic socialists are looking to maintain momentum from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election and shift the balance of political power in Albany.<\/p>\n
The candidates include a public defender, a union organizer and a former PTA president, and all are running on a shared platform<\/a> of fighting \u201cagainst ICE, war and genocide, and Trump\u2019s tax cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n It is the largest slate of candidates the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has ever endorsed. DSA leaders said they want to double the ranks of socialist legislators in Albany pushing to tax the rich to pay for social services like universal childcare.<\/p>\n The NYC-DSA and its army of volunteers were instrumental in Mamdani\u2019s successful mayoral campaign last year, and the mayor continues to refer to the organization as his \u201cpolitical home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe now know we can win across the city,\u201d NYC-DSA co-chair Grace Mausser said. \u201cAnd so we wanted to take bigger swings.\u201d<\/p>\n In Harlem, for instance, Mamdani won parts of the neighborhood by 60%. NYC-DSA leaders said they saw a corresponding surge in membership from Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where Conrad Blackburn, a 33-year-old defense attorney, is running to topple Assemblymember Jordan Wright<\/a>. Wright is the son of former Harlem Assemblymember Keith Wright, head of the New York County Democrats and grandson of former New York Supreme Court Judge Bruce Wright.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aPeople are just very disillusioned with politics as normal. The Democratic Party has let people down for so long,\u201d Blackburn said. \u201cPeople have seen a failure on the moderates’ part to really fight for the working class.\u201d<\/p>\n Blackburn is looking to win alongside congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who\u2019s challenging<\/a> Rep. Adriano Espaillat.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThere’s a moment right now and we have to capture it, because if we don’t, this moment’s gonna pass us by,\u201d Blackburn said.<\/p>\n NYC-DSA has endorsed seven candidates for the Assembly and one for the state Senate.<\/p>\n This includes Diana Moreno<\/a>, who\u2019s running for a full term after winning Mamdani\u2019s old Astoria-based Assembly seat in a special election earlier this year; tenant organizer Illapa Sairitupac<\/a>, who\u2019s running for an open Assembly seat in Chinatown; and Eon Huntley<\/a>, the former PTA president who\u2019s challenging Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman<\/a> for her Bed-Stuy seat.<\/p>\n The DSA has also endorsed attorney Adam Bojack<\/a>, who\u2019s running for Assembly in Buffalo.<\/p>\n There are currently eight DSA state lawmakers<\/a> in Albany. Even if all eight newcomers joined their ranks, the numbers would still make up a small portion of the 213-member Legislature.<\/p>\n But momentum is persuasive, according to Christina Greer, a Fordham University political science professor.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aNone of this stuff happens overnight,\u201d Greer said. \u201cIt’s a series of incremental gains and sometimes some incremental losses as well. But you keep chipping away at the policies that you want to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Albany\u2019s socialist lawmakers went into last session hoping to pass a 2% surcharge<\/a> on people making over $1 million a year. They advocated for free universal childcare statewide.<\/p>\n