Three socialist candidates won their congressional race primaries in New York on Tuesday. All three benefited from the same dynamic that helped propel socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani into office: large immigrant populations.
For decades Americans were told that mass migration would have little effect on the nation’s political character, and yet New York is increasingly showing that that claim was never true. The city’s transformation and adoption of socialism have unfolded against a backdrop of decades of demographic change driven by immigrants. Mamdani’s own victory provides the best example, given that data and exit polls are still rolling in from Tuesday’s primary.
Mamdani’s best performances were in neighborhoods with high rates of foreigners and their children. In Queens, where roughly 48 percent of residents are foreign-born, Mamdani saw decisive margins. Jackson Heights, where roughly 60 percent of its residents are foreign born, delivered approximately 60 percent of its vote to Mamdani. Elmhurst and Corona, where roughly two-thirds of the residents in each area are foreign born, also backed him decisively. Bushwick, which is heavily populated with immigrants and first-generation populations, delivered Mamdani another massive win.
Meanwhile, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who challenged Mamdani, performed better with native-born populations.
It’s hard to ignore the reality that Mamdani’s coalition was strongest in the very same areas radically transformed by mass migration, and that same dynamic appears to have helped his slate of endorsed candidates. In New York’s 7th Congressional District, DSA candidate Claire Valdez won in a jurisdiction that’s roughly one-third foreign born, including areas of Bushwick and other areas Mamdani himself did well in. In the 10th Congressional District, former City Comptroller Brad Lander beat incumbent Dan Goldman in a district with large immigrant populations in Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan. In the 13th Congressional District, DSA organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated longtime incumbent Adriano Espaillat in a community with a heavy immigrant population.