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Mamdani allies Valdez, Avila Chevalier win House seats for New York
By
Jon Campbell
Published Nov 3, 2026 at 9:13 p.m. ET
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Jon Campbell
Published Nov 3, 2026 at 9:13 p.m. ET
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Three of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s allies are headed to Washington after winning their elections Tuesday.
The elections of Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier were a foregone conclusion, given the overwhelming number of Democratic voters in their districts across parts of Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. Nevertheless, their victories signaled the popularity of Mamdani’s brand of politics focused on affordability, taxing the rich and the Palestinian cause.
"Across the nation, millions of our fellow Americans have voted and are still lined up outside of polling sites, guided by the faith that the future need not be defined by the failures of the past," Mamdani said in a speech at an election night party for New York Democrats and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who also won reelection Tuesday.
Democratic incumbent Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Grace Meng, Greg Meeks, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Ritchie Torres all cruised to easy victories, as well.
Micah Lasher won the high-profile Manhattan seat vacated by his mentor, retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler. Nicole Malliotakis held onto her seat that covers Staten Island and part of southern Brooklyn.
Outside the city, two closely watched contests offered Democrats critical opportunities to win House seats.
In the Hudson Valley, the race between incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Lawler and former Army officer Cait Conley appeared to be delayed for hours because a technical problem affected voting machines in heavily Democratic Westchester County.
In New York’s North Country, Anthony Constantino, a flamboyant entrepreneur and former amateur boxer, was taking on Democratic dairy farmer Blake Gendebien. They are vying for a seat being vacated by Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is retiring.
Tuesday’s results contrast with the 2022 midterms, when New York played a key role in Republicans winning a slim majority in the House.
That year, Hochul won her top-of-the-ticket race by six points — a relatively narrow margin in deep-blue New York. Rep. Nancy Pelosi was among those who blamed Hochul’s lackluster performance that year for a handful of key congressional losses down the ballot.
Since then, Hochul has raised tens of millions of dollars for the state Democratic Party to boost its down-ballot candidates. The effort paid dividends two years ago, when Democrats won back most of the tight House races in New York — except the 17th District held by Rep. Mike Lawler.
Here’s a roundup of other key congressional races around the state:
NY-8
Jeffries has held the seat since 2013. If Democrats take control of Congress as polling suggests, Jeffries is poised to make history as the first Black Speaker of the House.
NY-11
Malliotakis, a Republican, won the 11th district, a red-leaning seat that includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. She faced a challenge from Democrat Mike DeCillis.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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Politics
election
new york
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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