Tuesday’s primary in New York saw a takeover of Democratic Socialists of America candidates and those endorsed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“[This is] the Democratic Party’s accelerating leftward shift under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the influence of the Democratic Socialists of America, pushing things like abolishing the police and open-border-style policies,” Tony Kinnett, host of “The Tony Kinnett Cast,” said on Tuesday.
On Monday, New York’s mayor used the terms “monsters” and “dark money” while criticizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC.
“We’re talking about a status quo where children are being killed on a daily basis,” Mamdani said of Israel.
He also made claims about an alleged Hamas sniper that was killed during an Israeli strike, describing him as “an Al Jazeera journalist, Ahmed Wishah.”
When Mamdani spoke about AIPAC, he claimed the organization “has fought any attempt to actually deliver safety to people, not just in Palestine, but through much of the region, and that it is a status quo of immorality.”
“When it comes to the way in which they defend the status quo, oftentimes they defend it through direct contributions, as we are seeing right now in New York’s 13th Congressional District. Often times they also support the status quo through dark money,” he added.
One of the top moments of the night for New York’s elections included Comptroller Brad Lander unseating Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, one of the most vulnerable members in Congress.
While both candidates are Jewish, the contrast on the topic of Israel is stark, adding a “weird” angle to the race, as Kinnett saw it. Goldman is supportive of Israel, while Lander has been highly critical and has accused the Jewish state of committing “genocide.”
Lander received endorsements from Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Goldman was endorsed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
“[Goldman] is still very progressive as a Democrat,” Kinnett told listeners of his podcast. “The reason a lot of people are angry about him existing is because AIPAC has donated money to him.”
The congressman has had his public office vandalized and got into a public spat with Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn, which made clear on Instagram that they would have refused the congressman service had they recognized him.
Another shift left involved the unseating of a five-term Democrat incumbent, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who is also chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He was defeated by Darializa Avila Chevalier, a community organizer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who has had past social media posts about using the American flag as a napkin come back to haunt her.
Immediately following the Oct. 7 attack that Hamas carried out against Israel in 2023, Chevalier was protesting Israel. She also is associated with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, and has taken far-left views when it comes to abolishing prisons and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Claire Valdez, a member of the New York State Assembly for the 37th District, representing part of the Borough of Queens, also emerged victorious as the Democratic nominee for New York’s 7th Congressional District.
Valdez has referenced calls to “free Palestine” and “abolish ICE,” and she is campaigning to “win Medicare for all, housing for all, and unions for all.” She also looks to grant citizenship and voting rights to illegal immigrants and supports using taxpayer funds to pay for transgender procedures.
The nominees will almost certainly be serving in Congress next year, as the races are considered “solid Democrat” by the Cook Political Report.
Watch the full podcast here.
