{"id":275593,"date":"2026-06-23T19:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/275593\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T19:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:22:12","slug":"a-last-minute-guide-to-the-candidates-in-new-yorks-primaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/275593\/","title":{"rendered":"A Last-Minute Guide to the Candidates in New York\u2019s Primaries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Micah Lasher is one of two State Assembly members leading the pack<\/a>. Mr. Lasher, who represents a West Side district, is a self-branded political nerd<\/a> who is hoping that his years of experience advising Democratic politicians will sway voters to choose him, despite strong anti-establishment sentiment. Mr. Nadler has endorsed<\/a> and campaigned with him. Mr. Lasher has also benefited from $10 million<\/a> in support from former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

Alex Bores, an East Side assemblyman<\/a>, began his career at the data analytics firm Palantir and has centered his campaign on regulating A.I. His focus has fueled millions of dollars in super PAC spending<\/a> from industry players working both in support of and against him.<\/p>\n

Then there is Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy<\/a>. He has attracted attention by leveraging his family\u2019s fame, his good looks and a provocative social media presence. But he has struggled to overcome his perceived shortcomings<\/a> after revelations of his erratic behavior and staff turnover<\/a> on his campaign, despite the help of political heavyweights like Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, and Caroline Kennedy, his mother.<\/p>\n

George T. Conway III, the ex-husband of President Trump\u2019s 2016 campaign manager and a cable news fixture, switched parties for a chance to run. He has an unapologetically narrow focus<\/a> \u2014 stopping Mr. Trump \u2014 but he would have to overcome his history as a Republican to get elected in this district. The campaign is a test<\/a> of whether the animus that has built against the president is as potent more than a year into his second term.<\/p>\n

Other candidates<\/a> like Nina Schwalbe, a public health leader and global vaccine expert, have struggled to draw the same level of attention to their campaigns.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s 10th District<\/p>\n

Encompassing Lower Manhattan and a swath of Brooklyn, the 10th District includes wealthy New Yorkers who live in TriBeCa penthouses and Brooklyn brownstones, the poorer residents of large public housing developments, immigrant enclaves in Manhattan\u2019s Chinatown and Sunset Park in Brooklyn and a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish population. The area has a history of progressive politics.<\/p>\n

Daniel Goldman, a two-term Democrat and former federal prosecutor, is running for re-election amid a tectonic shift in his party\u2019s support for Israel. He has a liberal voting record and helped lead Mr. Trump\u2019s first impeachment inquiry, a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that would under other circumstances have helped propel him to re-election. But as his party<\/a> and the district<\/a> have turned against Israel amid its war in Gaza, Mr. Goldman\u2019s long-term commitment to that nation and ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby, have left him vulnerable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His loss may be Brad Lander\u2019s gain. Mr. Lander, a former city comptroller and mayoral candidate, is running to Mr. Goldman\u2019s left on Israel. Polls suggest Mr. Lander has opened a wide lead<\/a> despite Mr. Goldman\u2019s having spent more than $1 million of his personal fortune<\/a> on his campaign. Mr. Lander is also benefiting from his deep ties to the district and support from Mr. Mamdani, who is widely popular there.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s Seventh District<\/p>\n

Known by some as the \u201cCommie Corridor<\/a>,\u201d the Seventh District is a swath of Brooklyn and Queens that is home to some of the youngest and most progressive voters in the country. Neighborhoods like Williamsburg, Long Island City and Bushwick have undergone rapid gentrification, but sizable populations of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos remain.<\/p>\n

Antonio Reynoso, the Brooklyn borough president, would normally be the favorite<\/a> to replace Nydia M. Vel\u00e1zquez, a Puerto Rican trailblazer and Democrat who is retiring<\/a> after three decades. Mr. Reynoso grew up in the district, has a long progressive legislative record and has the backing of Ms. Vel\u00e1zquez<\/a>. But at a moment when Mr. Mamdani and the socialist movement are flexing their organizational muscle, his top opponent has the advantage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That person is Claire Valdez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a first-term state lawmaker<\/a>. Ms. Valdez, a former labor organizer, has argued that Mr. Reynoso has not been bold enough in office. More important, Mr. Mamdani, who is overwhelmingly popular in the district, has endorsed her, helped her raise money, offered strategic advice and appeared on the campaign trail on her behalf. Still, Mr. Reynoso remains a formidable opponent.<\/p>\n

Julie Won, a city councilwoman from Queens, is running<\/a> on a \u201clifetime of care\u201d platform that calls for universal government-funded child care and death benefits. But so far, she is trailing in polls.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s 13th District<\/p>\n

Covering Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, the 13th District is home to a large working-class Latino population, a sizable Black community rooted in Harlem and a growing number of white voters, some of them clustered around Columbia University.<\/p>\n

Adriano Espaillat, a five-term Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, spent years building a political network, known as \u201cthe Squadriano,\u201d that ultimately helped to make him the first Dominican American and first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress. But his old-school machine-style politics, his long support of Israel and his willingness to accept AIPAC money<\/a> have opened him to attacks<\/a>. Mr. Mamdani and his allies are attempting to unseat Mr. Espaillat<\/a>, whom they view as too friendly to corporate donors and Israel.<\/p>\n

Mr. Espaillat\u2019s primary challenger, Darializa Avila Chevalier, has the backing of the D.S.A., the Justice Democrats and Mr. Mamdani<\/a>, and has made the incumbent\u2019s foreign policy stances into a campaign issue. She helped lead protests against the war in Gaza<\/a> at Columbia University and has faced scrutiny for old social media posts<\/a> \u2014 since deleted \u2014 in which she used crude language to criticize Kamala Harris, expressed support for abolishing prisons and defunding the police and questioned Israel\u2019s right to exist.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s 17th District<\/p>\n

North of New York City, the 17th District includes wealthy liberal suburbs in Westchester County, Hudson Valley river towns and a growing Orthodox Jewish population in Rockland County. Kamala Harris narrowly won it in the 2024 presidential race.<\/p>\n

Mike Lawler, a two-term Republican and former political operative, holds a Hudson Valley-area seat that Democrats are desperate to flip. Mr. Lawler has eluded Democrats for two election cycles, building a reputation as a common-sense Republican willing to buck his party. But with voters bridling at Mr. Trump<\/a>, Mr. Lawler is facing a far more difficult environment<\/a>, and Democratic leaders are hopeful that Mr. Trump\u2019s unpopularity will help them reclaim the seat.<\/p>\n

Of the three candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to unseat Mr. Lawler in November, only two are presumed front-runners<\/a>: Cait Conley, an Army veteran and cybersecurity expert<\/a>, and Beth Davidson, a local county legislator<\/a>. Also on the ballot is Effie Phillips-Staley, a nonprofit executive and local official, who has staked out a more progressive platform.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s 21st Congressional District<\/p>\n

The 21st District, one of the largest in the United States, runs from Albany to the Canadian border. Once swing territory, the district elected Mr. Trump by 24 points in 2024.<\/p>\n

Robert Smullen, a career Marine and state assemblyman, is taking on Anthony Constantino, a local businessman and provocateur, for a vacant House seat that was previously held by Elise Stefanik, a Republican.<\/p>\n

While state Republican leaders are overwhelmingly backing Mr. Smullen<\/a>, Mr. Constantino has President Trump\u2019s endorsement, making him the favorite in the Republican primary. Mr. Constantino first got the president\u2019s attention when he erected a 100-foot wide \u201cVOTE FOR TRUMP\u201d sign<\/a> atop his company\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

State Comptroller<\/p>\n

If polling is a reliable indicator, most voters can\u2019t tell you<\/a> who Thomas P. DiNapoli is or what he\u2019s been doing for nearly two decades as state comptroller, the state\u2019s fiscal watchdog and public pension manager. With endorsements from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Letitia James, the state attorney general, he has campaigned for yet another term on his scandal-free record, a rarity in New York politics.<\/p>\n

He has never had a primary challenger. Now, he has two.<\/p>\n

Raj Goyle and Drew Warshaw are seeking to emulate Mr. Mamdani\u2019s energetic campaign and ride a wave of frustration with incumbents. They have criticized Mr. DiNapoli\u2019s stewardship of the state pension fund and its investments in Palantir, while also arguing that he could be making better use of his powers to audit other local and state agencies.<\/p>\n

Mr. Goyle, a lawyer, was once a state lawmaker in Kansas. Mr. Warshaw was an aide to Eliot Spitzer when he was governor, and previously worked at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and as an executive at a large affordable housing nonprofit. The two men are neighbors in Manhattan and former friends whose competing campaigns have puzzled friends and political observers, raising concerns about dividing the progressive vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Micah Lasher is one of two State Assembly members leading the pack. Mr. Lasher, who represents a West…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[89547,70436,97872,83329,96260,97874,89545,87392,97870,89554,97869,97871,43109,89549,96261,97873,52835,102581,416,79052,89546,89548,102579,859,91147,89550,87192,87193,46937,9,11,10,49,51,50,102580,83328,35046,91146,26386,95756,1876,89553,52323],"class_list":["post-275593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-adriano-d","tag-alex","tag-anthony-t-1982","tag-antonio","tag-avila-chevalier","tag-beth-j","tag-bores","tag-brad","tag-cait","tag-claire-1989","tag-conley","tag-constantino","tag-conway","tag-daniel-s","tag-darializa","tag-davidson","tag-dinapoli","tag-drew","tag-elections","tag-espaillat","tag-george-t-iii","tag-goldman","tag-goyle","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-jack-1993","tag-lander","tag-lasher","tag-micah-c","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-raj","tag-reynoso","tag-robert","tag-schlossberg","tag-smullen","tag-thomas-p","tag-united-states-politics-and-government","tag-valdez","tag-warshaw"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}