Mayor Zohran Mamdani's impact to be tested in key congressional races

The New York Primary Election is next Tuesday

By N.J. Burkett  Monday, June 15, 2026, 6:03PM  

LONG ISLAND CITY, Queens (WABC) -- The New York primary is a week from Tuesday. Early voting has already started in the city and continues through Sunday, and while Mayor Zohran Mamdani is not on the ballot, he could be a deciding factor in several key congressional races.

There are some years when barely 10% of New York's registered voters cast their ballots in the city's primaries. For the candidates, raising awareness is half the battle.

"We need people to vote! Right now, with early voting, we're seeing extremely low turnout," said District 7 Congressional candidate Julie Won.

The City Council member is one of several Democrats running for Congress in New York's 7th District, a field that includes Assembly Member Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

"Workers are under the boots of bosses and billionaires right now," Valdez said.

Mayor Mamdani is endorsing Valdez, a democratic socialist, not Reynoso.

"There are things where we disagree or where I think we might need to push him further left. Even on some issues like the police, some issues with ICE," Reynoso said.

In the primary, Mamdani is hoping to replace establishment Democrats, like Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, with progressives who support his democratic socialist agenda.

He endorsed Valdez, Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier in a TV ad that aired during the NBA Finals, leaving Goldman on the sidelines.

"If I let my personal feelings interfere with my obligations in my work, then I would be failing the people that I'm working for," Goldman said. "And so, I keep it very separate."

Unlike her opponents, Won says she hasn't taken a dollar from super-PACs.

"That is not OK, especially for progressives and leftists who have gone against corporate Democrats who said no to oligarchs, billionaires, and yet they're taking money from them," Won said.

Whether Mamdani's support is enough to unseat well-known incumbents like Goldman and Espaillat remains to be seen.

Early voting runs through Sunday. Primary Day in New York is next Tuesday.

----------