New York Primaries Test Mamdani's Reach and Trump's Endorsements
Cover image from foxnews.com, which was analyzed for this article
Tuesday primaries in New York and other states pit progressives against establishment Democrats while testing Trump's endorsement power and AIPAC spending. AI industry also poured funds into related ballot measures.
PoliticalOS
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — Politics
Tuesday's results will show whether Mamdani's 2025 coalition can install allies in Congress and whether Trump's endorsement retains its prior force in Republican contests. Outside money from AI firms and pro-Israel groups has already altered the scale of several New York races.
What outlets missed
Most coverage omitted the exact dollar amounts and specific super PAC donors in the 12th District AI contest beyond broad totals. Few noted that Espaillat initially backed Andrew Cuomo in the 2025 mayoral race before switching to Mamdani. Reporting rarely included the low expected turnout or the absence of recent independent polling in the three Mamdani-endorsed races. The South Carolina runoff's history of dual Trump endorsements in other states received little context.
New York voters decide Tuesday whether Mayor Zohran Mamdani can extend his 2025 primary victory into congressional seats, while separate contests measure President Donald Trump's continued pull inside the Republican Party. Three House districts in the city pit Mamdani-backed challengers against incumbents or establishment favorites, and a Republican primary upstate pits a Trump-endorsed newcomer against a state lawmaker backed by local party leaders. In South Carolina, Trump endorsed both finalists in the GOP gubernatorial runoff after earlier losses elsewhere.
Mamdani supports Darializa Avila Chevalier against Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th District, former Comptroller Brad Lander against Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th, and Assembly Member Claire Valdez against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the open 7th. Espaillat and Goldman hold support from Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Democratic leadership. The 12th District race to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler has drawn more than $20 million from competing AI-industry super PACs, with groups tied to OpenAI and venture firms opposing Assembly Member Alex Bores and Anthropic-linked groups backing him. Polling in several of these races remains limited and turnout is expected to be low.
Trump backed businessman Anthony Constantino in New York's 21st District against Assembly Member Robert Smullen. In South Carolina, Trump first endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, then added Attorney General Alan Wilson days before the runoff. Wilson received late support from Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman. Utah and Maryland also hold primaries, including a new Democratic-leaning seat in Salt Lake City created by court-ordered redistricting and a crowded Maryland race to succeed Rep. Steny Hoyer.
Outside spending includes at least $650,000 from AIPAC's United Democracy Project in the 13th District and millions more from pro-Israel and pro-crypto groups in Maryland. Mamdani has described AIPAC as supporting a "status quo for immorality," while Espaillat's allies have highlighted past social-media posts by Avila Chevalier. Goldman and Lander differ on the scale of U.S. arms sales to Israel. No candidate has secured a majority in any of the contested New York races in recent public surveys.
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