Progressive candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won three congressional primaries on Tuesday, with the war in Gaza emerging as a defining issue that underscores the Democratic Party's internal divisions over Israel.
Progressive Victories in Key Races
Claire Valdez defeated Antonio Reynoso in a Brooklyn-based district, while Brad Lander unseated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District. Darializa Avila Chevalier also won her primary, all with Mamdani's backing. Voters like Varun Venkatesh, a 27-year-old Brooklyn resident, cited candidates' stances on Palestine as a litmus test. “I wanted to know what the candidates are doing for the Palestinian cause,” Venkatesh said after supporting Valdez.
The results signal that the Israel-Palestine conflict remains a potent issue for the party's left flank, even as Democrats seek to unify ahead of the November midterms and the 2028 presidential race.
Israel Issue Divides Party Strategists
Matt Bennett, who leads the centrist Democratic group Third Way, warned that Mamdani's camp has embraced “a new level of extremism.” He said, “Republicans are very good at weaponizing crazy ideas on the fringe against mainstream candidates.” However, Mamdani dismissed such concerns, sharply criticizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for defending what he called “a status quo of immorality” in Gaza. Supporters at his victory celebration chanted “Free Palestine.”
Mamdani argued that New York should shape the Democratic Party's national identity. “When does the race for 2028 begin? It starts now,” he said last week on stage with his slate of candidates.
War in Gaza Continues to Roil Democrats
The war in Gaza, which began during Joe Biden's presidency and undermined Kamala Harris's 2024 bid, remains an open wound. Biden was denounced as “Genocide Joe” by pro-Palestinian activists, and Harris faced similar criticism. Jamie Harrison, former Democratic National Committee chair, acknowledged that the war cost Harris the state of Michigan, which has a sizable Arab American population. However, he doubted it was a defining national issue. “It's one thing to be in New York. But I can tell you that most places, including where I am in South Carolina, it's not what people are talking about,” Harrison said. “They are concerned about affording gas and groceries and housing.”
Harrison expects Democrats to seek middle ground, including “still supporting Israel's sovereignty” while calling for “reducing US aid to Israel and changing the nature of the relationship.”
Lander's Victory Speech Targets 'Hug Bibi' Strategy
In the 10th district, Brad Lander, who is Jewish, defeated incumbent Dan Goldman, also Jewish. Both have criticized the Israeli government, but Lander describes the war as a genocide, while Goldman does not. “Our party needs to admit that Joe Biden's 'hug Bibi' strategy was a catastrophic mistake,” Lander said in his victory speech. “We cannot keep paying for Netanyahu's wars with our tax dollars. Democratic voters are saying this, loud and clear.”
Voter Ari Rassouli said Goldman's views on Israel were “one of the many reasons that I didn't like Dan Goldman.” Describing the war as a genocide, she added, “A candidate that is in support of that has no place in our democracy at all.”
Lander acknowledged that Israel was among the top issues for voters, along with affordability and immigration. “I like talking to Jewish voters who feel anxiety about the times we live in and say, 'I have these values, I want to treat everyone like they're equal and with dignity and created in God's image. How do we navigate the times we're in?'” he said. He added with a smile, “Those are probably the longest conversations at the polls.”
