Mamdani-Backed Progressives Sweep NYC Primaries, Toppling AIPAC-Endorsed Incumbents

On June 23, 2026, Darializa Avila Chevalier pulled off the unthinkable. A first-time candidate and public defense investigator, she unseated five-term Representative Adriano Espaillat in NY-13. He'd held that seat for ten years. As chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Espaillat had all the money. FEC filings show his campaign pulled in about $2.104 million for the 2025 to 2026 cycle. It didn't matter. Avila Chevalier’s grassroots team successfully argued that Espaillat was out of touchLoaded Language with a district that's getting younger and more vocal about stopping U.S. military aid to Israel.

The biggest fight was in NY-10. Former City Comptroller Brad Lander knocked out incumbent Dan Goldman. According to FEC data (ID H6NY10176), Lander raised $2.249 million, nearly matching Goldman by relying on a massive wave of individual donors. Goldman was a staunch supporter of Israel’s military operations and had AIPAC’s full backing. Lander didn't shy away from the conflict. He campaigned specifically on stopping the killing in Gaza, where the Israeli military has continued to kill civilians despite international outcry and broken ceasefires. For context, AIPAC is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. They're a powerful lobbying group that pushes pro-Israel policies and funds primary challengers to anyone who criticizes the Israeli government.

Over in the open race for NY-7, state assembly member and union organizer Claire Valdez beat Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Valdez is set to replace the retiring Representative Nydia Velázquez, cementing Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s role as the city's new kingmaker. It’s a significant power shift. Mamdani hasn't been quiet about it, either. During a June 22 press conference, he caught heat from some Jewish community leaders for calling AIPAC 'monsters' because of their use of 'dark money' in local races. He later clarified he was talking about their lobbying tactics, not the people behind them.

“FEC filings show Adriano Espaillat raised $2.104 million, yet was unseated by a first-time candidate who focused on the intersection of housing and foreign policy.”

Most pundits are calling this a referendum on Gaza, but that's only half the story. Internal polling shows these candidates ran on an 'affordability agenda' that hit home. They linked the high cost of living in NYC directly to federal military spending. It worked. By 'dark money,' we mean funds from groups that don't have to disclose their donors, like 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations. By tying tenant rights and healthcare to their critique of foreign aid, the Mamdani slate successfully dodged the 'single-issue' label that establishment opponents usually use to dismiss progressive challengers.

The financial scale of this defeat for AIPAC is massive. We’re still waiting on the final numbers for the last week of the race, but the United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s Super PAC, was a dominant force in the 2026 'AIPAC Blitz.' In these three New York districts, all that cash failed to buy a win. A Super PAC is a specific type of committee that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from corporations and unions to push for or against a candidate. This time, the investment didn't yield a return.

We don't have the final turnout percentages for the June 23 primary yet. Those will be essential in figuring out if this was a broad shift in the electorate or just a very motivated base. But here's the thing: low-turnout June primaries in New York usually reward the best ground game, not the most expensive TV ads. The establishment tried to use 'Fairshake' tactics. That's when PACs stop talking about policy and start attacking a candidate's character. It didn't work against candidates who stayed focused on the real-world problems their constituents face.

As the 2026 general election approaches, Democratic party leadership faces a choice. They can either integrate the Mamdani wing’s priorities or risk a fractured base. For everyday New Yorkers, these results suggest that the influence of national lobbying groups on local seats is not absolute. The next round of FEC filings in July will show the full extent of the independent spending used to target these candidates. That'll give us a much clearer map of how the 2026 political landscape was reshaped.