Fresh off his rise to City Hall, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is trying to export his democratic socialist movement to Washington — and the candidates he picked are giving conservatives plenty to talk about ahead of the June 23 Democratic primary.
Mamdani has endorsed three congressional hopefuls, all of whom have built closing arguments around fierce criticism of Israel, Jewish Insider reported. The New York Post and other critics have gone further, characterizing the group as an alleged "Hamas slate" — an inflammatory label the candidates themselves reject, and one worth separating from what each contender has actually said and done.
The Lightning Rod
Darializa Avila Chevalier is the flashpoint. The 32-year-old Democratic Socialist is challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in New York's 13th District covering Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. A former organizer of Columbia University's pro-Palestinian encampment, she attended a demonstration the day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.
The most damaging account comes not from the right but from her own side. The Broadway Democrats, a left-wing Manhattan club, declined to endorse her and backed Espaillat instead, according to JNS. The club said that when asked at its meeting "to condemn Hamas and its Oct. 7th attacks, she point-blank refused, turning the question into yet another attack on Israel." At a later June 4 forum she said, "While, yes, I do condemn Hamas," before pivoting to argue that American tax dollars fund "indiscriminate slaughter."
The Rest of the Slate
Claire Valdez, a state Assembly member, is running in a Brooklyn and Queens district for the seat of retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, facing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Valdez has leaned into Gaza messaging, at one point speculating on social media that pro-Israel money funded ads against her — asking, "Is it actually AIPAC?" — and referencing "the genocide," Jewish Insider reported.
Brad Lander, the former city comptroller who allied with Mamdani during last year's mayoral race, is challenging Rep. Dan Goldman in a Manhattan-Brooklyn seat. Notably, Lander identifies as a "progressive Zionist," a fact that complicates any blanket "Hamas slate" framing. Still, his closing pitch attacked Israel's Gaza campaign, declaring his coalition is "united around a belief that a better world is possible — one in which we are not complicit in occupation and genocide."
A High-Risk Gambit
Mamdani has campaigned alongside the slate, including a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders, CBS New York reported, pitching the effort as a way to reshape New York's House delegation in his movement's image. NBC News called the gambit a "high-risk, high-reward" bid that could either expand his influence or stall it if his picks lose to entrenched incumbents.
What the record supports is straightforward: Mamdani endorsed three candidates who have made opposition to Israel and U.S. military aid central to their campaigns, one of whom would not condemn Hamas when pressed by fellow progressives. What it does not support is the blanket terrorist-sympathizer label some critics attach to the entire group. Voters render the only verdict that counts on June 23.
