Incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman Loses Nomination to a Socialist By 30 Points, And Two Other Mamdani-Backed Candidates Also Win Big.
by David Shephard, ©2026
(Jun. 25, 2026) — Mayor Zohran Mamdani proved last night that he has more influence in the Democratic Party than anyone else. He is more influential than the Clintons or Obama, and certainly he has more influence than his fellow New Yorkers, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Governor Kathy Hochul. Mamdani backed three far-left candidates in New York and last night all three won, and they won big, and two of his candidates beat incumbents. State Representative Claire Valdez won an open seat in New York’s 7th district, Darializa Avila Chevalier won in the 13th district, and Brad Lander won in New York’s 10th district. All three are socialists, all three want to abolish ICE and all three want to “free Palestine.”
Clearly after last night, the energy in the Democratic Party is with Mamdani and his fellow socialists. After last night it is safe to say that the far left has taken over New York, so much so that Chuck Schumer probably can’t get renominated in 2028, when he is up. And even Hakeem Jeffries will have to pay proper respect to the socialists if he has any chance to keep his seat for a few more terms.
Mamdani’s three wins:
Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated five term incumbent Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th congressional district. In addition to wanting to eradicate western civilization, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a socialist and Muslim convert, wants to make, healthcare a human right, she wants national rent control, she wants Medicare for all, a Universal Basic Income, a 4-day workweek with no loss in pay, presumably, if the company can’t pay the wage difference, then taxpayers will cover the difference. She also wants the break-up of Amazon and Facebook, the abolition of ICE, free college (for all who want a worthless degree), price controls, and full unionization.
Darializa Avila Chevalier is an anti-American radical who once volunteered on social media that if there were no napkins handy, she would gladly wipe her hands on the American flag. She tried to delete some of her other social media posts, but CNN reported some of them that they uncovered including:
“A world without borders—just like a world without prisons or police—is possible, necessary, and the only moral way forward,” read one deleted repost from September 2021.
During a three-day period in September 2021, Avila Chevalier also reposted now-deleted messages declaring, “Yes, literally, abolish the border” and that “all deportation is wrong.”
Also, last night, addressing her supporters in the 7th district, Claire Valdez, another Mamdani backed winner said, “Solidarity forever, abolish ICE, Free Palestine, organize your union, and join DSA.”
Zohran Mamdani also backed Brad Lander in New York’s 10th district, and he defeated incumbent Dan Goldman by 30 points. Goldman himself was pretty far left, but not far enough for today’s Democrats, and in addition, Goldman is Jewish, a problem for the hard left, and while he is not pro-Israel, he is also not pro-Palestine. Democrats want the most pro-Palestinian candidates they can find.
This is not the party of JFK, who opposed socialism or even Bill Clinton, who believed in secure borders, balanced budgets, and lower capital gains taxes. Safe to say JFK or Bill Clinton couldn’t win a Democratic primary today. Heck, even Joe Biden couldn’t get renominated today, not because he is non compos mentis, but because he would not be far enough to the left. He would be considered too pro-Israeli.
In addition to being anti-Trump and in favor of socialism, it is clear that there is a growing desire in the Democratic Party to nominate candidates from the far left. I believe that moving forward Democratic candidates will be under great pressure to adopt these four positions: abolish ICE, stand for a free Palestine, some form of socialized medicine, and pack the Supreme Court.
The three districts in New York are solidly Democrat districts, so their nominees will win in November and there will be three new socialists in Congress next year. This is significant. And I think in response Republicans, all across the country, should point to these three radicals, and hold them up as examples that this is no longer a centrist pro-America party.
Today the Democratic Party is divided into two camps: those principled people who proudly claim to be socialists (Zohran Mamdani) and those unprincipled people who won’t admit it (Abigail Spanberger). Either way it is best not to vote for them.