These are interesting times for left-wing politics in the United States. The Democratic Party’s ageing centre-left establishment figures are still there, but instead of participating, they are just observing, as a clutch of new candidates critical of Israel's violent and racist policies swept the board in New York City.
In late June Democratic primaries, candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated incumbent rivals supported by the party’s traditional establishment, in a moment that analysts are interpreting as a changing of the guard. Ahead of November’s mid-term elections, Brad Lander (a Jewish critic of Israel), Claire Valdez (a Christian of Caribbean origin who supports immigrants), and Darializa Valdez Chevalier (a Muslim who helped lead Columbia University sit-ins against Israel’s war in Gaza) prevailed.
The sweeping victories have raised more than a few eyebrows and suggest that the new generation of Democratic politicians is growing impatient with the ageing orthodoxies still clung to by their party’s leaders.
Chevalier, 32, won the party’s nomination in New York’s 13th Congressional District, unseating veteran Representative Adriano Espaillat, 71, who had held the seat for five consecutive terms and enjoyed strong support from pro-Israel lobbying groups. She is an investigator in the state attorney-general’s office while pursuing a doctorate in social sciences, and this is her first foray into politics. In a victory comment few could ignore, Chevalier told supporters: “The politics of the past ended today.”
She took part in the Columbia University sit-ins protesting the genocide in Gaza, was active in Students for Justice in Palestine, and her campaign rested on a forthright political discourse in support of Palestinian rights. She was critical of former President Joe Biden and his former Vice President Kamala Harris over their support for Israel, which many New Yorkers feel has committed genocide in Gaza.
The new generation of Democrats has adopted bolder positions on foreign policy, especially on Palestine and questions of social and economic justice. Critics accuse Chevalier of ‘promoting communism’ to replace private ownership and create a classless society, but she has ignored the attacks and instead focused on issues surrounding affordability, saying: “If we want to invest in the country’s working classes, that should be reflected in budgets.” Mamdani agrees. “The only majority in the country is the working class,” he said.
Israel criticism wins votes
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (who is Jewish) defeated veteran Representative Dan Goldman (who is also Jewish) in New York’s 10th District in a heated contest centred on US policy toward Israel and Gaza. Lander wants the US to stop supplying Israel with weapons, an increasingly popular stance.
Goldman, a former federal prosecutor elected to Congress in 2022, was backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a leading pro-Israel advocacy group which spends hundreds of millions of dollars supporting pro-Israel candidates. Although Goldman had criticised the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, he refused to call the war in Gaza a genocide, as Lander did.
There is growing evidence that voters are angered by AIPAC’s influence over American policy, and Lander pledged to fight the flow of money into US elections and to work to improve the living standards of the working class. He also stressed the need to reassess American positions toward Israel and to consider halting US funding for Israel’s military activities.
Meanwhile, in the 7th District, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens, Mamdani threw his weight behind Claire Valdez, 37, in her nomination battle against Antonio Reynoso. Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders both chose to back Valdez in her bid for the seat of Democrat Nydia Velázquez, who is retiring.
A bolder left
Historically, New York City is safe territory for the Democrats, but the growing number of progressive candidates is forcing the party to reconcile its divergent currents. Newer nominees want to dismantle US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), build housing for low-income communities, raise the minimum wage, tax the wealthy, and fight political corruption. They also criticise America’s pro-Israel policies, oppose the wars in Gaza and Iran, and demand universal healthcare.
These positions form the core principles of progressive politics, with Mamdani, 34, having already become a kind of godfather to the Democratic Party’s left wing. The victory of the three candidates he backed is being seen as proof that the shift towards progressive positions is well underway and only gathering momentum.
The Mamdani Touch
Mamdani joined the campaigns of Lander, Chevalier and Valdez, and appeared with them in television advertisements broadcast during the NBA Finals (when New York’s team won the title for the first time in more than half a century). The progressives’ victory is a headache for House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, himself a New York Congressman, and a likely candidate for Speaker of the House should Democrats regain their majority.
They also cast a shadow over the political future of Chuck Schumer, 75, the Senate Democratic leader. Schumer, a New Yorker who is backed by AIPAC, is seen as having offered only a muted response to Trump’s sweeping policy decisions, his unwavering support for Israel, and his adherence to the traditional party line. After the victory of Lander, Chevalier, and Valdez, Schumer sought to harness the energy, ignoring the alarm bell for his own leadership.
