Mamdani allies look toward Congress with ambitious progressive agenda

Three congressional candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are approaching Tuesday’s midterm elections as likely winners, with attention turning to what they could accomplish in Washington. Claire Valdez, Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier secured Democratic nominations in June and are running in districts that strongly favour their party.

Their primary victories followed a rally with Mamdani at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre, where voters applauded demands to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tax wealthy people and support Palestinian rights. Lander defeated Representative Dan Goldman, Avila Chevalier ousted longtime Representative Adriano Espaillat, and Valdez won the nomination to replace retiring Representative Nydia Velazquez. New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter supported both Valdez and Avila Chevalier.

All three support abolishing ICE, ending American military assistance to Israel and creating Medicare for All. Their political backgrounds, however, differ. Lander previously served as city comptroller and endorsed Mamdani after losing to him in the 2025 Democratic mayoral primary. His congressional challenge to Goldman centred on Israel and Palestine in a district with one of the country’s largest Jewish populations.

Lander has characterised Israel’s Gaza campaign as genocide and its occupation of Palestinian territory as apartheid. He also describes himself as a Zionist, supports a two-state solution and argues that those positions are compatible with Palestinian solidarity. Israeli forces detained him in the occupied West Bank two weeks before the election while he was helping with the olive harvest. Israeli authorities subsequently revoked his travel documents for a planned return.

Avila Chevalier’s advocacy developed after a 2014 internship with a youth organisation in Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Her campaign proposes shifting military expenditure, including assistance to Israel, into childcare, healthcare and other domestic needs. Valdez, a former union organiser and current New York State Assembly member, has focused on workers’ rights. She supports the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, national rent control and government-run healthcare.

Their broader objectives would require navigating competing interests in Congress and the White House. Progressive strategist Nomiki Konst told Al Jazeera that the candidates should identify shared priorities and pursue achievable early results. Lander has proposed prohibiting members of Congress from trading individual stocks and restoring enhanced health insurance subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. Avila Chevalier would prioritise redirecting spending toward domestic programmes, while Valdez wants to advance the labour legislation.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez offers a precedent for progressive New Yorkers seeking agreements across party lines. After defeating longtime incumbent Joe Crowley in 2018, she has sometimes collaborated with Republicans. In 2025, she joined Florida Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna in introducing a 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates, echoing a proposal from Senators Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley.

The challenge of balancing alliances and principles has already surfaced for Avila Chevalier. She demanded Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s resignation after ICE shot a man in his car while his child was in the backseat. Avila Chevalier said city police later pushed her to the ground during protests. Mamdani reportedly appointed Tisch on Governor Kathy Hochul’s recommendation. Despite such tensions, Avila Chevalier told Al Jazeera she would seek common ground with anyone willing to advance her priorities, pointing to healthcare changes and a moratorium on data centres as areas of potential agreement.