Anti-Israel Democrats sweep New York primaries, signaling party shift

Three Democrats who ran hardest against Israel’s war in Gaza won New York City congressional primaries Tuesday, a result that showed how far some Democratic voters have moved from the party’s old pro-Israel center. Brad Lander defeated Rep. Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th Congressional District, Darializa Avila Chevalier toppled Rep. Adriano Espaillat, and Claire Valdez moved into position to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez.

The wins mattered because they came in a closed-primary state, where only registered party members could vote and the November general election is heavily favored to the Democratic nominee. They also came in America’s most heavily Jewish city, in districts where Zohran Mamdani had already performed well in his November 2025 mayoral run. Mamdani backed all three candidates, and his endorsements helped turn the races into a test of whether sharp criticism of Israel had become an asset rather than a liability in New York Democratic politics.

Each campaign made Gaza central. Lander attacked Goldman for taking donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and for refusing to support legislation that would block additional U.S. military aid to Israel. Avila Chevalier pressed Espaillat over his own AIPAC donations. Valdez ran on a similar anti-war message, pairing criticism of U.S. military and financial support for Israel with progressive economic arguments that fit Mamdani’s lane.

The results immediately drew stark reactions across New York’s Jewish political world. Pro-Israel leaders expressed alarm, while progressive Jewish groups celebrated the outcome. At victory parties in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, the crowd chanted “Free, free Palestine!” and “Free Palestine!” The atmosphere underscored how openly the Gaza war has entered Democratic primary politics in the city, not just as a foreign policy dispute but as a litmus test inside local races.

Analysts said the sweep suggested criticism of Israel is now more politically durable in Democratic primaries than it once was, especially in dense urban districts where progressive voters are concentrated. It also put new pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who now face a party coalition more fractured on Israel and Palestine than the one that carried them into leadership. With New York’s U.S. House general election set for November 3, the June 23 primaries signaled that a measurable slice of the Democratic electorate is willing to reward candidates who break with traditional pro-Israel positioning.