The Latest: Mamdani successfully backs three primary candidates as he reshapes New York politics
The latest round of primary elections took place Tuesday in four states: Maryland, New York, South Carolina and Utah.
The midterm elections in November will determine control of both chambers of Congress and will also see the election of dozens of governors and other state and local offices. Before then, voters must choose nominees for each of these offices, making their picks in primary elections throughout the spring and summer in all 50 states.
New York: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is reshaping the city’s congressional delegation through a series of successful endorsements in Democratic primaries in districts 10, 13 and 7.
Maryland: All eight of the state’s congressional districts held contested primaries. In a state that typically leans left (only one district is led by a Republican), the primaries often determine the general election winners. Gov. Wes Moore secured the Democratic nomination for a second term.
South Carolina: State Attorney General Alan Wilson won the Republican nomination for governor after President Donald Trump, who initially endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette for the job, said on Friday that either contender would be a good pick.
Utah: Voters cast ballots to nominate congressional candidates using a new map that created a Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City. Ben McAdams, a former Utah congressman who has sought to shed his reputation as a moderate, won the Democratic primary in that redrawn district.
Here's the latest:
Darializa Avila Chevalier, the first-time candidate who ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat in a Democratic primary, portrayed him as unresponsive to constituents’ calls and out of touch with such key issues as housing affordability in the district in upper Manhattan and part of the Bronx.
“Today we make it clear — the politics of the past ends today,” the democratic socialist said at her victory party, adding that “the era of taking a check and cashing a check and calling it representation is over.”
“No longer will we accept a politics that throws scraps at us and acts as if we should be grateful for them,” she said.
All three candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primaries, knocking off incumbents Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th District and Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District and winning the Democratic nomination for the open seat in the 7th District.
Opposing views over Israel were at the center of the clash between incumbents and their Mamdani-backed challengers. Brad Landers, who ran against Mamdani in the 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, criticized AIPAC’s support of Goldman and promised to sponsor legislation that would put restrictions on military aid to Israel.
Donna Gunn says it’s “beautiful” to see former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams win and to have an opportunity to send a fierce ally for LGBTQ+ rights back to Washington.
The longtime Special Olympics volunteer says she has been deterred from engaging in politics ever since Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election. But McAdams’ victory in the Democratic primary for Utah’s 1st Congressional District has given her hope, Gunn says.
“We are so happy and so lucky to get Ben, who’s going to stand up to that bully in the White House,” she said.
McClain Delaney won her Democratic primary, fending off competitors in what became one of the state’s most expensive races.
Among her challengers was David Trone, the wealthy founder of Total Wine & More, who previously held the seat before stepping aside to make an unsuccessful Senate run in 2024. Trone lent some $25 million of his own money to his campaign.
McClain Delaney represents the 6th District, which stretches from the westernmost part of the state to the Washington suburbs.
She loaned her campaign more than $7 million.
“Y’all, I gotta give a special thanks to my mentor, to my friend, Steny Hamilton Hoyer,” Maryland state Del. Adrian Boafo said after winning the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 5th District, which Hoyer has represented for decades.
“He’s been our Danish knight in shining armor, our rock,” Boafo said.
“Tonight, the Democratic voters of the 5th Congressional District decided that it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders. And it’s with great humility that I accept that responsibility.”
Speaking to supporters in Brooklyn after her Democratic primary victory, Claire Valdez said they hadn’t just won an election.
“We have declared that this movement is durable, that it is growing, and that it will not stop” until working people are not just offered a seat at the table, but “run the table.”
Valdez said that back when she was bagging groceries for work, “I couldn’t dream of running for office — I could barely dream of a day off.”
State Sen. Nate Blouin says the progressive movement “still has a long way to go” after former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams prevailed in the Democratic primary for Utah’s 1st Congressional District. McAdams was considered a more moderate candidate than Blouin and the other two Democrats in the race, former Meta and TikTok employee Liban Mohamed and tax attorney Michael Farrell.
“This isn’t the end,” Blouin said in a statement. “It’s the beginning of a new era of organizing in Utah, one focused on progressive values that strengthen our communities instead of billionaire donors and special interests.”
A spokesperson for Blouin declined to immediately answer when asked by text if the lawmaker will get behind McAdams’ campaign.
The president delighted in the defeat of two of his Democratic foes in Tuesday’s congressional primaries in New York.
He slammed Rep. Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel for Trump’s first impeachment, after Goldman lost his primary for a seat in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
“Weak and pathetic Congressman Dan Goldman just lost, BIG! I guess people didn’t like him illegally targeting President TRUMP,” the president wrote on his social media platform. “In any event, this jerk is finally GONE!”
And he took aim at George Conway, who lost his bid to succeed outgoing Rep. Jerry Nadler in a crowded race in Manhattan, calling Conway a “Trump Deranged Loser at the highest level.”
Democratic primary winner Ben McAdams in Utah’s 1st Congressional District outlined his previous work in Congress to expand healthcare, invest in public lands and secure protections for LGBTQ+ communities.
But McAdams told supporters that his defining vote was to impeach Donald Trump, which was met with loud applause.
“I would do it again,” he said. “Character matters, courage matters and right now talk is cheap. Utahans deserve someone who has already shown the courage to stand up and speak with conviction when the pressure is real.”
The mayor celebrated all three of the candidates he endorsed winning their primaries on Tuesday.
“A year ago, it was not the end of a political movement,” he said. “It was the beginning!”
The crowd chanted “DSA! DSA!” after Mamdani took the stage, the initials for the Democratic Socialists of America.
“The old politics that got us to this crisis is not the politics that is going to get us out of this crisis,” Mamdani said.
Candidate Michael Farrell says he’s looking forward to working with Democratic primary winner Ben McAdams in Utah’s 1st Congressional District.
Farrell, a tax attorney, added that he isn’t worried about whether party members would rally behind McAdams following the highly competitive primary.
“Given the results, clearly folks are supportive of Ben pushing forward, so I don’t see an issue with that,” Farrell said.
After winning the Democratic nomination for retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler’s seat in the heart of Manhattan, state Assemblymember Micah Lasher said Nadler has been a political presence throughout his life.
“When I was born, I was already Assemblyman Nadler’s constituent,” Lasher said, adding that he later “watched as Congressman Nadler led fights long before they were convenient.”
Lasher, who has also worked for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, says he wants to “revamp and recharge the Democratic Party” and to “show that Democrats in Congress shave bold new ideas to improve the lives of struggling Americans and then deliver on them.”
Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams credited his supporters at his election party following what appeared to be a decisive victory in a crowded Democratic primary for Utah’s 1st Congressional District.
“Thank you, Utah Democrats, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” McAdams said. “Tonight this victory belongs to every volunteer who showed up on a hot June afternoon and knocked door after door.”
He also asked for their continued support for the November general election: “You ran hard. You ran with conviction, and this party and this state are better for it. The energy and the passion your campaigns brought to this race is exactly what we need headed into November.”
Supporters of former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams broke out in cheers as word of his victory spread at the Democrat’s election watch party in Salt Lake City.
People moved toward a podium surrounded by orange, blue and white balloons, where McAdams was getting ready to speak.
He prevailed in a highly competitive Democratic primary for Utah’s 1st Congressional District and enters the general election as the favorite in the newly drawn district.
“Tonight wasn’t our night but I love you anyway,” he told supporters.
The New York congressman was up against Avila Chevalier, backed by Mamdani.
“When i came to this nation as a young immigrant boy, I could have never imagined that I would be a member of Congress,” Espaillat said. “That is the privilege of my life, to serve you the community, and I will continue to love and serve this community in the best way that I can.”
Avila Chevalier scored an upset in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District.
The race pitted the community organizer backed by the city’s democratic socialist mayor against a five-term congressman.
Espaillat was the first person who had been an undocumented immigrant elected to Congress.
Avila Chevalier is currently a doctoral student at the City University of New York. Her victory underscores the influence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political movement as he builds allies in Washington.
Maloy defeated former state lawmaker Phil Lyman, who embraced false claims of fraud following the 2020 presidential election.
The district, spanning most of southern and eastern Utah, emerged last fall from a legal battle over the state’s previous congressional map, dramatically altering its makeup. The shakeup left Maloy vulnerable to a primary challenge.
Under the new map, Democrats are expected to pick up one of Utah’s four Republican-held House seats in the Salt Lake City area this fall.
Maloy will face off against Democratic nominee Kent Udell, an engineer, in the November general election. The GOP candidate is heavily favored to win in the deep-red district.
The New York Assembly member lost the Democratic primary in the state’s 12th Congressional District to Micah Lasher, who previously worked as an aide for the seat’s current holder, Rep. Jerry Nadler.
“I didn’t get in this race to make a point about AI,” he said, but said “some of the most powerful people on the planet” lined up against him.
“They set out to make people afraid of them,” Bores said. “Instead, they learned just how ready the people are to push back.”
The brash, Trump-backed MAGA disciple who owns a custom sticker business in upstate New York defeated state Assembly Member Robert Smullen in the Republican primary to replace outgoing Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Constantino, who drew national attention after he put a massive “Vote For Trump” sign on the roof of his company’s building, is expected to cruise to victory this fall in the heavily Republican district, which stretches across most of New York’s northern tip.
Smullen had heavy support from the state’s Republican Party but it was not enough to overcome the president’s still-strong hold over voters.
Stefanik late last year said she would not seek reelection to the House and that she was suspending her campaign for governor to spend more time with her family.
US Rep. Dan Goldman said it was a privilege to serve in Washington, adding that there was a silver lining to his loss to Mamdani-backed Brad Lander.
“I can’t wait to be a much more present father,” he said. Goldman has five children.
Ben McAdams, a former Utah congressman who has sought to shed his reputation as a moderate, has won the Democratic primary in a redrawn U.S. House district that Democrats are strongly favored to win this fall.
McAdams defeated several candidates to his political left, including a state senator and a former employee of TikTok and Meta who had insisted McAdams is too conservative to represent a deep blue district.
The seat in the Salt Lake City area is among the few anticipated Democratic pickups following a national redistricting fight started by Trump to try to help Republicans maintain their majority in the U.S. House.
The 1st Congressional District race could be crucial for Democrats, who need to gain only a few House seats in November to take control of the narrowly divided chamber.
McAdams is strongly favored to defeat Republican Riley Owen, an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve who was chosen during the state GOP’s spring convention.
Cox beat a crowded field of competitors to clinch the Republican nomination.
The 51-year-old ultraconservative former member of the state House of Delegates unsuccessfully ran against Moore four years ago.
Cox has promoted Trump’s lies about the 2020 election being stolen and organized buses to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
He has pledged to slash taxes and beef up housing affordability programs if elected.
The Democratic state senator said just before polls closed that he was feeling calm, “because I think I know what’s going to happen.”
Blouin, a progressive Democrat, said he thinks the progressive vote will be divided, and former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, a moderate, will prevail.
Blouin had urged another progressive candidate, Liban Mohamed, to drop out of the Democratic primary for Utah’s 1st Congressional District.
In-person election day voting concluded in Utah at 8 p.m. local time, which is 10 p.m. EDT. Comparable past elections can offer clues about when to expect the first vote results and how long the vote count might take.
In the 2024 state primary, The Associated Press first reported results at 10:03 p.m. EDT, or three minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 2:07 a.m. EDT with about 74% of total votes counted. The tally surpassed 90% of the vote counted by June 27 at 6:32 p.m. EDT, two days after election day.
Lasher is running to replace his former boss Rep. Jerry Nadler.
Lasher has worked as an aide for a wide range of New York political figures like Nadler, Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
He won a bruising primary battle for one of the richest and most Democratic House seats in the country. The large field included Kennedy heir Jack Schlossberg and former GOP lawyer George Conway.
Jack Schlossberg took the stage in Manhattan after polls closed in New York’s Democratic primary for the 12th Congressional District.
The grandson of President John F. Kennedy was the first of the candidates in the race to speak, but neither conceded nor suggested he had won. Instead, he repeated his message of a need for the Democratic Party to put forward more vigorous candidates.
“No matter what, if we win tonight, or if we don’t, we’re still in the midst of a corruption crisis,” he said. “We need to do things differently. We don’t just need younger candidates. We need different people, people who are willing to speak plainly about the cost of living, about corruption and fearlessly about the Constitution.”
Conley will face Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in the general election for New York’s 17th District.
Lawler, a two-term congressman, is considered one of the nation’s most vulnerable Republicans. Democrat Kamala Harris carried the Hudson Valley swing district in the last presidential race.
Conley earned the backing of national groups, including the American Federation of Teachers, VoteVets and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
The 40-year-old Democrat topped a field that featured Beth Davidson, a county legislator who raised questions about Conley’s ties to companies involved with Trump’s immigration crackdown. Conley denied any connection to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Conley emphasized her military background, having deployed six times as an Army officer to combat zones including Iraq and Afghanistan. She later served in the Biden administration as the director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council.
In choosing Boafo over nearly two dozen competitors, voters in the 5th District opted for a continuation of Hoyer’s pragmatic style of politics rather than a more progressive, antiestablishment approach promised by some other candidates.
Boafo, 32, is endorsed by Hoyer — his former boss — along with Gov. Wes Moore and other prominent Democrats. He also secured donations from tech firms and the cryptocurrency industry. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC also spent more than $1 million backing him.
Boafo worked as a field director and campaign manager for Hoyer before becoming a lobbyist and state delegate.
New York state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist, defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso with the backing of Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Both endorsed Valdez in hopes of giving the progressive left a greater foothold over the Democratic establishment in New York’s congressional delegation.
The primary victory also leaves Valdez in strong position for November in the heavily Democratic district that covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens. It also marked a stinging setback for Reynoso, who had the endorsement of the district’s retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez.
Voters in the state’s most populous city were turning out in large numbers even as smoke from wildfires burning across Utah turned the skies hazy and produced some of the worst air quality on the planet.
Some voters at the Salt Lake County Government Center said they had been waiting for close to an hour as polls got busier later in the day. Some walked briskly to their vehicles after casting ballots, while others pulled up to drop boxes to avoid the lines and hazy air.
Seven large fires were burning across Utah, including a blaze that started over the weekend in the dry, grassy foothills just outside Salt Lake City. It had the 12th-worst air quality of any city globally on Tuesday, according to IQAir’s live ranking.
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