{"id":1517633,"date":"2026-06-23T08:24:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?guid=8d55b2ebff2e764d852e8afde36464ea"},"modified":"2026-06-23T08:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T13:38:56","slug":"new-yorks-2026-primaries-are-here-could-control-of-congress-come-down-to-the-empire-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1517633","title":{"rendered":"New York\u2019s 2026 primaries are here. Could control of Congress come down to the Empire State?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Congressional candidate Claire Valdez speaks during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at Kings Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City. Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier are challenging incumbents in Democratic primary contests. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

(NEW YORK) -- The first major test of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s political influence could come Tuesday as three of his congressional endorsees face competitive primary races.<\/p>

Two Democratic congressmen in New York City are facing challenges from progressive candidates endorsed by Mamdani, while two other races in the city each have multiple candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, including a Kennedy family member.<\/p>

The Empire State is once again expected to play a pivotal role in the battle for control of the House this November.<\/p>

North of the city in the Hudson Valley, a crowded Democratic field is seeking to flip Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler\u2019s seat.<\/p>

And in the state\u2019s sprawling 21st Congressional District, which stretches from the top of the Catskill Mountains to the Canadian border, a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump is taking on a state GOP-backed assemblyman in the race to replace Rep. Elise Stefanik.<\/p>

1 city, 4 high-profile races<\/strong><\/p>

New York City largely leans blue, but the primary races are showing deep divisions among Democratic voters.<\/p>

\u201cI think what's interesting about primaries, especially in New York, is that they're the main contest because they tend to have an outsized influence on the general election,\u201d said Hostos Community College assistant professor Helen Chang.<\/p>

When drivers cross into Brooklyn, they are greeted with a sign noting that Mamdani is the mayor and Antonio Reynoso is the borough president.<\/p>

While Mamdani and Reynoso\u2019s names might appear together on the sign, they are not on the same page in the 7th District race in which Reynoso is a candidate. Reynoso is supported by New York Attorney General Letitia James, but Mamdani is backing state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez. Julie Won, a city council member, is also running.<\/p>

In Manhattan and Brooklyn's 10th District, Rep. Dan Goldman is being challenged by Mamdani-endorsed former comptroller Brad Lander, while in the 13th District, which covers parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, the mayor is supporting community advocate Darializa Avila Chevalier over Rep. Adriano Espaillat. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is backing Espaillat and Goldman.<\/p>

Mamdani did not endorse a candidate in Manhattan\u2019s 12th District. The race has been dominated by the artificial intelligence industry, with spending both supporting and opposing state Assemblyman Alex Bores.<\/p>

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed state Assemblyman Micah Lasher in the race, while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is backing former President John F. Kennedy\u2019s grandson, Jack Schlossberg. Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway, health researcher Nina Schwalbe and attorney Laura Dunn are also running.<\/p>

Noteworthy contests to the north<\/strong><\/p>

In the northern suburbs, the 17th is one of the state\u2019s handful of swing districts. Home to Bill and Hillary Clinton, the district has been represented by Lawler since 2023.<\/p>

Several Democrats are looking to make the district blue again, including former National Security Council Counterterrorism Director Cait Conley, Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson, Tarrytown Village Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley, former reporter Michael Sacks and retired Air Force officer John Cappello.<\/p>

Further upstate in the state\u2019s northernmost district, Republican primary candidate Anthony Constantino has aimed to closely align himself with Trump.<\/p>

Constantino, who received the president\u2019s endorsement, is the CEO of Sticker Mule and made headlines in 2024 by placing a large \u201cVote for Trump\u201d sign atop his building.<\/p>

Rival candidate Robert Smullen, a state assemblyman and retired Marine Corps officer, was endorsed by the chair of the New York Republican State Committee.<\/p>

Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez speaks during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at Kings Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City. Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier are challenging incumbents in Democratic primary contests…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2416,"featured_media":1517644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/06\/75045b7f47ecd1a025942671c6120f54.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1502,1449],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1517633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-heads","category-abc-political-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-25 10:52:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/06\/75045b7f47ecd1a025942671c6120f54.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2416"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1517633"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1517645,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517633\/revisions\/1517645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1517644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1517633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1517633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1517633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}