Congress

Mamdani makes big political gamble in backing Espaillat challenger

Published

4 months ago

June 3, 2026

NEW YORK — When Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed former city Comptroller Brad Lander’s run against Rep. Dan Goldman, many Democrats accepted it as a favor to a political ally — even if it came at the expense of bucking an incumbent.

But each successive endorsement has created new friction that has led some Democrats to question whether the mayor keeps his political commitments.

When he backed Assemblymember Claire Valdez for retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat, Democratic power brokers weren’t as understanding, with even progressives openly grousing about how Mamdani spurned Velázquez’s succession plan by opting for a fellow democratic socialist over her preferred pick.

Then, last week, the mayor endorsed another democratic socialist, Darializa Avila Chevalier, in her primary challenge against Rep. Adriano Espaillat — despite his previous commitment to back the incumbent.

“It’s very difficult to say about someone that you don’t trust that person,” Velázquez, an early endorser of Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral run, told Blue Light News after his Avila Chevalier nod. “But your actions are raising serious concerns about taking you at your word — and that is very, very, very problematic in this business.”

The mayor’s involvement in some of the city’s most competitive congressional primaries should come as little surprise. It’s no secret that Mamdani, whose mayoral campaign was boosted by the city’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, entered office unafraid to defy his party’s old guard in bold ways. But he’s also exhibited a tendency to hedge his bets by cooperating with the political establishment, most notably in his dealings with President Donald Trump and Gov. Kathy Hochul.

His decision to support Avila Chevalier is his biggest political gamble yet. While Lander and Valdez face tough races, their paths to victory are generally viewed as more achievable than toppling Espaillat, a five-term incumbent with deep ties to the district. And Avila Chevalier’s social media history — including her description of former President Joe Biden as “a rapist” and calling for the abolition of all forms of policing — hasn’t exactly helped her make inroads outside her far-left base of support.

The endorsement against Espaillat also stands to carry consequences for the mayor well beyond the primary election.

Last summer, Mamdani privately promised Espaillat he would support his reelection run, according to Velázquez and a person with direct knowledge of the conversation who was granted anonymity to discuss it. Mamdani made that behind-the-scenes commitment in conjunction with Espaillat endorsing him in the general election for mayor shortly after he defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in last June’s Democratic primary (Espaillat had supported Cuomo in the primary).

Velázquez, a matriarch of New York’s progressive movement, said in her interview with Blue Light News that Espaillat confided in her that he and Mamdani even shook hands on the reciprocal endorsement pledge last summer.

Acknowledging that she’s still “infuriated” with Mamdani for the way he endorsed Valdez over her preferred pick for her seat, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Velázquez said she will never again take the mayor’s word on anything — whether it be about politics or policy — at face value. And she pointed directly to his broken promise to Espaillat.

“I will say I want it in writing,” Velázquez said.

Applied broadly across the city’s political spectrum, that sort of approach would spell trouble for the mayor given that he negotiates budgets with the City Council while banking on members of the state Legislature and New York’s congressional delegation to push his priorities in Albany and on Capitol Hill, respectively.

Aside from serving in Congress, Espaillat has a number of allies he helped get elected to the Council. And that lawmaking body is currently in the midst of negotiating the Mamdani administration’s first city budget. One Council member said that process has grown more tense due to his Avila Chevalier endorsement.

“Now we know his word isn’t worth anything,” said the member, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

A spokesperson for Mamdani declined to comment. In a statement to Blue Light News, Avila Chevalier said, “The establishment can decide their feelings on this. The voters of this district have already proven they trust the mayor and support his vision by electing him last June with a 19 point margin.”

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Harlem organizer who is challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat from the political left, is the fifth Justice Democrats-endorsed candidate of the 2026 cycle.

Prior to Mamdani backing Avila Chevalier, her campaign was flying under the radar compared to high-profile primaries across the city. The crowded race to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan, Lander’s challenge of Goldman and the campaign for Velázquez’s seat have all sucked up much of the city’s political oxygen.

Lander is well-known in Goldman’s district, which covers Brooklyn and Manhattan, and has a loyal progressive following — in part because of his criticisms of Israel. He has proven to be a serious threat to the two-term incumbent: A recent Emerson College survey found Lander leading Goldman by more than 30 percentage points. And he (along with Valdez and Avila Chevalier) can soon expect an influx of ad spending from a progressive super PAC backing candidates who’ve criticized Israel.

The quest for Velázquez’s seat, where Valdez is up against Reynoso and City Council member Julie Won, is more open. But the Brooklyn-Queens district, which has been dubbed the “Commie Corridor,” featured some of Mamdani’s best performances in last year’s mayoral election — a sign that his support on the trail there will be a powerful asset. The DSA also has a strong base in the district, and the organization is working overtime to boost Valdez over Reynoso, who has the backing of the progressive Working Families Party.

Avila Chevalier’s race, meanwhile, presents as more of a longshot. An organizer at Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampment, Avila Chevalier was recruited to run for the seat by Justice Democrats, a progressive group. The district, which covers upper Manhattan and the Bronx, delivered for Mamdani in last year’s mayoral election — and offered Espaillat detractors an opening.

But Espaillat, the first formerly undocumented member of Congress, has held the 13th District since 2017 and before that represented portions of it as a state senator. Over the years, he has built a robust network of political allies known as the “Squadriano.” Even before the Mamdani endorsement, outside groups had committed more than $1 million in outside spending to boost him over Avila Chevalier, who outraised him in the first quarter of the year — an indicator that political observers were aware the race could be close.

Avila Chevalier’s backers were also aware it would be a difficult fight.

When the city chapter of the DSA discussed endorsing Avila Chevalier in December, some leaders expressed concerns about the organization’s bandwidth for the race this cycle, especially since it was also backing Valdez.

“I worry we’re not going to have capacity for two very challenging congressional races,” Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the city’s DSA chapter, said at the December endorsement meeting, according to audio obtained by Blue Light News. “A weak performance in 2026 will create a narrative that the left isn’t the future, that we aren’t on the rise. We can’t make that mistake again. We have to concentrate our resources.”

That sentiment has clearly shifted, as the DSA chapter ultimately endorsed Avila Chevalier — along with Valdez — in January.

Asked about his past reservations about Avila Chevalier, Gordillo said in a statement Tuesday that his group “was proud to support Darializa’s campaign early on. Since our endorsement of Darializa, membership in our Bronx / Upper Manhattan branch has outpaced every other branch in the city. What that tells us is that uptown and the Bronx are ready for change.”

Things haven’t always been copacetic between Avila Chevalier and the DSA, though.

“Glad I trusted my gut on DSA and their racial justice organizing cause babyyyy the stench of anti Palestinian racism on the BDS thing ain’t gonna wash out easy,” she wrote in a March 2022 post from her since-deleted X account, an archive of which has been obtained by Blue Light News.

The broadside against the DSA was referring to the national DSA’s decision at the time to de-charter the organization’s BDS Working Group amid internal policy feuds. In her statement Tuesday, Avila Chevalier said she is proud to have the backing of the DSA, which has a “strong history of elevating pro-Palestine candidates to office, even at times when it was politically inconvenient to do so.”

The Mamdani endorsement is poised to accelerate Avila Chevalier’s momentum — likely bringing in more attention and money to Avila Chevalier in the closing stretch of her campaign.

Public polling is scarce in the race. Earlier this year, Avila Chevalier’s campaign touted an internal survey that found her trailing Espaillat by 14 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup.

But before pulling the trigger on endorsing Avila Chevalier in a joint TV appearance last week, Mamdani reviewed another, yet-to-be-released poll that showed her with a better outlook, according to a person with direct knowledge of the mayor’s deliberations who was granted anonymity to discuss them.

“There was a close examination of the numbers, and the polling is looking good for her,” said the person, who did not know more specifics about the poll or who conducted it.

Mamdani has stuck by Avila Chevalier in recent days as more reports emerge about her social media activity. When asked Tuesday if her posts raised concerns for him, Mamdani pivoted to touting her as a “champion for working people.” When pressed again on the posts, he dodged the question, replying: “She said herself that a lot of these don’t reflect her views today.”

For his part, Espaillat has sought to downplay Mamdani’s endorsement. On Saturday, he gathered with more than a dozen unions and elected leaders for a show-of-force rally that included Council Speaker Julie Menin — whom Mamdani has frequently found himself on the opposite side of. In a statement, Espaillat spokesperson Reginald Johnson said, “We can’t gamble the future of our working families to score political points.”

Other powerful Democrats are standing by Espaillat in the aftermath of Mamdani’s intervention. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “The mayor and I have agreed to strongly disagree” regarding Espaillat, whom he called “a bold, effective leader.” Jeffries vowed to “work hard to make sure he’s reelected.”

Former Democratic Rep. Max Rose, who has been outspoken about Mamdani endorsing Avila Chevalier, said that the nod sends the message to the New York delegation that “what matters actually is what the DSA tells him to do, not who you are and what you’ve stood for.”

“The mayor’s capacity to be on his own politically will not last forever,” Rose said. “He will need others to stand with him when he is politically weakened, and I promise you, if he only has the DSA to stand with him, that will not be enough.”

Congress

Centrist Dem’s Supreme Court plan boosts momentum for revamp

Published

7 hours ago

October 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democratic efforts to revamp the Supreme Court gained momentum Thursday as an influential center-left think tank released a plan to limit justices’ terms and misconduct.

Third Way’s proposal, shared first with Blue Light News, highlights growing unity across the ideological spectrum in the Democratic Party for significant changes to the high court as Americans’ trust in the institution hovers at historic lows.

The group says it also wants to inject ideas to overhaul the court — including legislation to set an 18-year term limit and an enforceable ethics code — into the party’s conversations leading up to the 2028 presidential race.

“This is one of those things that we think can and should be a part of the 2028 discussion, and those folks who are running should be asked about whether they would champion Supreme Court reform,” Lanae Erickson, a senior vice president at Third Way, said in an interview.

Key Democratic groups have increasingly been coalescing around ideas to overhaul the court’s structure and policing in light of accusations of growing partisanship and corruption among justices. In June, a number of key Democratic House caucus leaders, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released their own resolution calling for term limits for justices and a code of ethics.

“We think that the center left has been remiss in not being forward enough on reform proposals that would make our system work better for people, which is why some folks have gone to the further left,” Erickson said.

Third Way cited public opinion polling from both the Brennan Center for Justice and FOX News indicating more than 70 percent of respondents favored term limits for justices. An 18-year cycle would ensure the appointment of two justices every presidential term.

The group also wants legislation to hold justices accountable for ethics violations. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said last month he supports “dramatic reform” on the Supreme Court starting with an ethics code so justices don’t act “above the law.”

The court in 2023 adopted its own formal ethics code for the first time in history, but that policy largely lacks some of the teeth that advocates have proposed.

One idea supported by some Democrats that Third Way is not endorsing: upping the number of justices on the bench. Erickson said that idea seems more like “a mutually assured destruction path,” as parties could go back and forth adding more justices.

The path forward for any court-focused legislation in Congress in the near future, however, is very slim without majorities in both chambers and control of the White House — something Third Way acknowledged.

Still, the group’s recommendations are meant “to show that the center left can also be bold and be addressing systemic problems to appeal to voters and their level of anxiety and anger about what’s happening right now,” Erickson said.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Dems skip DC with wind in their sails

Published

7 hours ago

October 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate wrapped up its work late Wednesday night, and lawmakers in both chambers won’t be back until after midterm voters pass judgment.

And Chuck Schumer is growing increasingly confident they’ll hand the Senate to Democrats

“Here’s how I’d sum up the election: Can enormous amounts of Republican money beat a Democratic enormous advantage in much better candidates and a much better political climate?” the minority leader said in an interview in his office Wednesday.

“I think we win,” he added.

Schumer’s optimism — saying Democrats’ have the “wind in their sails” — reflects his members’ growing bullishness as they head home for a final sprint to convince voters to give them back the majority. The Senate recessed Wednesday night after confirming President Donald Trump’s Labor secretary, but Democrats stayed united in a string of politically tricky votes before leaving.

“It certainly feels like it’s going to be a wave election, and not for good reasons,” Sen. Chris Murphy said. “This president’s domestic and foreign policy has gone off the rails.”

There’s division among Democratic party strategists on whether to spend these final weeks focusing on the states viewed as most likely to flip — like Alaska, Ohio or Iowa — or put resources into so-called reach states like Mississippi, South Carolina or Florida.

Schumer declined to weigh in, but said that Democrats would do “whatever it takes to win” and that he expects to spend the next five weeks fundraising.

“We have lots of different paths to victory, and we’re not going to turn any of them down,” he said.

Also hanging over the midterm elections are questions about Schumer’s future — but the New York Democrat said that he is “running for re-election for leader. Period.”

Republicans, meanwhile, are still hopeful that they can hold onto their majority even if it’s narrower. Much of the midterms map runs through states that Trump won previously.

“Of course we are,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said about keeping control of the chamber as he left the building Wednesday. “Thank you for asking.”

What else we’re watching:

— PERMITTING DEAL FACES HOUSE BUZZSAW — The Senate’s newly announced bipartisan permitting reform package is set to hit a wall in the House, where key lawmakers aren’t rushing to endorse it. House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman warned Wednesday most House Democrats will not support the Senate’s permitting legislation as written, urging lawmakers to resume negotiations after the midterm elections when they are “likely to have a far better negotiating position.” And House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, a key GOP negotiator, has yet to take a position on the Senate deal.

—RASKIN WANTS TRUMP AD PROBE — House Judiciary’s top Democrat is demanding federal inquiries into the amount of taxpayer money that was used by the Trump administration for a TV ad blitz endorsing the president ahead of the midterms. Rep. Jamie Raskin, who is poised to lead the panel if Democrats flip the chamber, and Rep. George Whitesides, wrote to the Government Accountability Office Wednesday asking them to investigate the “source, accounts and total amount of taxpayer funds used” to produce and distribute the ads. The pair of lawmakers also asked the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the ads “constitute a violation of the Hatch Act” and to “determine who should be held accountable.”

Nico Portuondo and Chris Marquette contributed to this report.

Congress

Raskin leads calls for federal investigation into Trump PSA’s

Published

7 hours ago

October 1, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee is demanding federal inquiries into the amount of taxpayer money used to furnish a television ad blitz propping up President Donald Trump ahead of the midterms.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is poised to lead the panel if Democrats win the majority in November, joined California Democratic Rep. George Whitesides in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Special Counsel. It asks the GAO to investigate the “source, accounts, and total amount of taxpayer funds used by the Executive Office of the President to produce and distribute this advertisement across major television markets and official White House social media channels.”

The lawmakers also ask the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the ads “paid for by millions of dollars of taxpayer funds, constitute a violation of the Hatch Act, and determine who should be held accountable.”

The ads, which so far have run during NFL games and flagship Sunday news shows, depict Trump in a powerful and effective light, with glimpses of him posing for the camera, denigrating the free press and denouncing communism. Each includes the phrase, “paid for by the U.S. government.”

“These ads constitute an illegal use of taxpayer funds, perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that they are virtually identical to the ones Donald Trump used during his 2024 presidential campaign, and in fact use the same footage and the same inept ideological messaging,” Raskin and Whitesides contend.

Other congressional Democrats have also reached out to the administration in recent days to express outrage and ask basic questions about how the ads were derived and funded.

Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Chris Murphy of Connecticut — the top Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, respectively — have written to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin regarding reports that the agency has redirected $20 million in funding originally intended for Customs and Border Protection to “bankroll the obscene political ads.”

A White House spokesperson called the TV spots “public service announcements” and said they are designed to remind “Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad. The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”

A spokesperson for DHS said the agency “follows all applicable rules for contracting decisions and keeps all decision makers informed” and that “all contracting decisions are made in accordance with applicable law.”

The Office of the Special Counsel confirmed it received the letter and declined comment.

A spokesperson for GAO did not respond to a request for comment.