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The super PAC complicating the narrative for NYC progressives in Democratic primaries
By
Jon Campbell
Published Jun 11, 2026
Modified Jun 11, 2026
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Brigid Bergin/Gothamist
By
Jon Campbell
Published Jun 11, 2026
Modified Jun 11, 2026
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This column originally appeared in The Politics Brief, our weekly newsletter on the people, power and policies that shape New Yorkers' lives.
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Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander pride themselves on the thousands of small donors fueling their congressional runs.
So what happens when a deep-pocketed super PAC promises a multimillion-dollar campaign to support the New York City progressive Democrats’ efforts? Their primary opponents go on the attack.
American Priorities, a PAC that’s been billed as a counterweight to pro-Israel groups like AIPAC, pledged to put up $2 million in support of the three candidates last week. Since then, each of their opponents have painted them as hypocrites who condemn dark money in politics but now stand to benefit from it.
The candidates have denied knowledge of the PAC’s efforts. Coordinating with an independent campaign is illegal. Instead, they’ve touted their own small-dollar fundraising efforts.
But their opponents sense an opportunity. That includes incumbent Reps. Adriano Espaillat — a Washington Heights mainstay trying to ward off Avila Chevalier’s challenge from his left — and Dan Goldman, the two-term Lower Manhattan lawmaker who trails Lander in the polls.
It also includes Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Councilmember Julie Won, who are running against Valdez to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez. Won and Reynoso issued a joint statement Monday accusing Valdez of breaking a pledge to denounce super PAC spending.
“If you’re going to campaign on rejecting big money and special interests, you can’t actively rely on them to attack candidates who have long progressive records of supporting working families,” Valdez’s opponents said in the statement.
During a candidate forum on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” last week, Espaillat repeatedly accused Avila Chevalier of taking money from “a millionaire from Texas” — a not-so-precise claim that left his opponent scratching her head.
That’s a likely reference to one of American Priorities’ biggest funders: Hussein Mahrouq, a Texas businessman whose company owns Dollar car rental franchises and an Automax car dealership.
Mahrouq has put $400,000 into the PAC, which has already paid $500,000 for ads attacking Espaillat and/or supporting Avila Chevalier. One of those ads features Noor Abdalla, wife of Columbia University student protest organizer Mahmoud Khalil.
Other top donors to American Priorities include Mohammed Waqas Javed and Omer Hasan, who gave $1 million each. Both have connections to the tech industry and funded a pro-Zohran Mamdani PAC in last year’s mayoral race.
Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier said they had no knowledge of the super PAC spending that’s supporting their efforts.
“I want to be very clear that, unlike my opponent, I don't take a dime of corporate PAC money,” Avila Chevalier said during the candidate forum.
Valdez, during a separate “Brian Lehrer Show” forum on Monday, pivoted from her opponents’ attacks by touting the 22,000 individual donors to her campaign.
“I think it's really important to be very clear about the fact that AI, crypto, AIPAC are spending millions and millions of dollars in midterm elections and have for some time,” she said. “And the way that some people are countering that is by also spending money.”
Espaillat and Goldman have both enjoyed support from independent expenditures. That includes a $2.5 million pro-Espaillat (and anti-Avila Chevalier) ad and mail campaign from BOLD America, a group that promotes Hispanic Democrats. A pro-Goldman PAC known as New Yorkers Fighting Back has spent more than $300,000, despite Goldman posting a video falsely claiming Lander is the only candidate in the race “taking super PAC dark money.”
Lander, meanwhile, pressured Goldman to sign a pledge denouncing spending by any third parties. Goldman countered with a similar proposal that also would’ve required seven televised debates.
They never struck a deal.
“The People’s Pledge was intended to be binding if both candidates pledged to mitigate the influence of outside spending in the race,” Lander spokesperson Emily Minster said in a statement.
In a statement, Goldman spokesperson Maddy Rosen accused Lander of “welcoming dark money into his campaign” after he spent months “pushing the lie” that Goldman is beholden to special interests.
American Priorities didn’t respond to requests for comment.
This story has been updated to correct how long Rep. Goldman has been in Congress.
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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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