US congressman Dan Goldman has been defeated in a New York primary election, capping a clean sweep for candidates backed by New York’s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Goldman was beaten by progressive challenger Brad Lander in New York’s 10th congressional district in a contest that laid bare the party’s divisions over the Israel-Gaza war.
Lander has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza. Goldman, a two-term incumbent, was backed by pro-Israel groups.
Two other candidates, both democratic socialists endorsed by Mamdani as he seeks to tilt the Democratic party to the left, won their primary races on Tuesday, in a boost for the party’s left wing in America’s largest city.
Assemblywoman Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the 7th district.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a doctoral student who has joined pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, won her race in New York’s 13th district.
She toppled Adriano Espaillat, who had held the district for five terms and is chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a body that advocates for legislation and resources for Hispanic Americans.
Mamdani celebrated her win, describing Chevalier as a person “of clarity, of conscience and of conviction”.
Lander, who was also endorsed by Vermont’s democratic socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, easily beat Goldman by 65.7% to 34.1%, with most votes counted.
He also received praise from Mamdani, who touted Lander’s “vision of politics that is more than what we’ve seen for so long”. Mamdani has described himself as a democratic socialist. The term has no clear definition but focuses on giving a voice to workers over corporations through policies like tax hikes on the rich to expand social programmes.
The endorsements were seen as a test of Mamdani’s political influence, as he helps boost the profiles of progressive political candidates. Establishment Democrats in Washington, meanwhile, have warned that left-wing candidates might not appeal to swing voters in this November’s midterm elections.