Progressive battle brews in 34th Assembly District

Brian Romero and Aber Kawas, both progressives and Democratic Socialists, are vying for the 34th Assembly District in Queens. Andreas Migias, a local community board member, has also filed for the seat. Photos via campaigns

By Ryan Schwach

A progressive battle is brewing in one of Queens’ most diverse districts, even if both of the leading candidates claim they aren’t looking for a fight. 

Aber Kawas and Brian Romero, both members of the Democratic Socialists of America, are looking to capitalize on Zohran Mamdani’s recent victory and carry his agenda into Albany as the state assemblymember for District 34. Both have both pulled in significant fundraising and major endorsements, and appear to be the front runners in the race to represent the increasingly progressive district, which includes the diverse neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Astoria. 

While Kawas and Romero agree on a number of issues, they enter the race from different sides of the political landscape. 

Andreas Migias, a local community board member and also self-described progressive, has recently filed for the seat and launched his campaign on Wednesday.

Romero has worked within legislative politics as a former chief of staff to the district’s incumbent, Jessica González-Rojas and currently holds that role in Queens State Senator Kristen Gonzalez’s office.

González-Rojas is leaving the seat and staging a challenge to State Senator Jessica Ramos.

Kawas is a DSA organizer and Palestinian activist who was particularly active amid the conflict in Gaza.

Migias has served on Community Board 1 as the board’s youngest member for three years. He worked predominantly on the land use committee as the board dealt with large-scale redevelopment including the recently passed OneLIC plan, which included a small part of the board’s area.

The two frontrunners agree on myriad issues, and both cited the policies of the Trump administration as a reason for running. Both also say accomplishing Mamdani’s affordability agenda in Albany is a key priority of theirs.

“Albany is the place where the conversations around the [city’s] budget are the most prevalent, and that's where the fight is going to be to actually get the funding to pass that affordability agenda,” said Kawas.

Both told the Eagle they hope the race for the Assembly seat does not cause a fracture within Queens’ leftist ranks or bubble beyond and effect the leftist coalition Mamdani invigorated in 2025.

Regardless of their wishes, the race for AD34 will be one of the most closely watched in Queens in 2026, and will most likely reveal how the progressive movement continues into Mamdani’s tenure as mayor.

Romero’s main pitch is that Albany is an arena he knows well as a long-time staffer.

“I believe I am the best candidate at this time to actualize on Zohran's agenda, whether it's universal child care, fully funding the MTA or fighting food insecurity, which I've done for several years,” he said. “I have fought for these things and been successful.”

Romero helped facilitate many of JGR’s legislative accomplishments, including universal school meals.

Romero has the blessing of his former boss, as well as Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, whose district borders the 34th.

“Representing Jackson Heights and Corona is a tough but rewarding job, and there is no one else I’d rather work with than Brian,” Cruz said in a statement.

On the other hand, Kawas will likely come into the race with the support of her and Romero’s mutual political home, the DSA.

The DSA, fresh off their greatest political victory in New York City, are already setting up a candidate to succeed Mamdani in the Assembly. They are also potentially positioning themselves to launch a bid for Nydia Velázquez’s congressional district, and other seats citywide.

While it has not been made official yet, it is widely expected that the DSA will back Kawas, giving her the support of the city’s other socialist electeds and their loyal volunteer army.

Mamdani has been rumored to be supporting Kawas, but the mayor-elect has not officially weighed in.

“People are looking for a different kind of politician, somebody who comes from the communities to represent the communities,” Kawas said. “With the DSA, that also gives you a cohort of like-minded elected officials that you work with who support each other's issues.”

She told the Eagle she was recruited by the socialist organization to run, and that the venture is a shift from her more activism-centered background.

“I deliberated for a long time about it, and it was actually quite unexpected that I was asked to run,” she said. “I've just always seen myself as an advocate, on the other side of the table.”

She joined the DSA in 2021, but was involved in the organization before that. Her recent work has centered around pro-Palistinian organizing and campaigning for the Not On Our Dime Act, a bill introduced by Mamdani in 2023 that would stop tax-exempt registered nonprofits in New York from helping to fund Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank.

Many of Mamdani’s fellow electeds strongly opposed the bill, and Speaker Carl Heastie called it a “non-starter.”

Kawas said the bill “represents a visionary approach to politics.”

Palestine may not be the issue brought up the most during the hyper-local campaign for District 34, but Palestine is a piece of Kawas’ identity as a candidate, and how she views local issues.

“Acknowledging what is happening in Palestine is the same thing as acknowledging what is happening in terms of people's struggle to afford their lives, and seeing ICE raids and ICE taking students and children,” she said.

Romero also sought out the coveted DSA-endorsement, but told the group that he would run with or without their backing.

“I do not think that people should drop out of any race because of any particular endorsement or another,” Romero told the Eagle. “I am going to keep doing what I have done for the last several years, which is deliver for my neighbors.”

While the DSA-endorsement holds weight in any race in current political times, its grip in AD34 is vastly different than in Mamdani’s 36th District.

Mamdani won AD34 by 7,000 votes in the general election, but the district is diverse, and other organizations like the Working Families Party and immigration groups like Make the Road New York hold significant political sway.

“I firmly believe that in this moment with everything happening from the federal government and everything coming to us from Washington, this district deserves someone who can build a coalition of all of those groups,” said Romero. “That means being able to work with each of those groups, regardless of an endorsement or not.”

Kawas sees it as a challenge.

“I am really looking forward to the opportunities that are presented with running within my district, because I think that my district is extremely diverse,” she said.

Some have worried that multiple DSA-aligned candidates running for the same seat may split the vote, and diminish the strength of the local socialist movement.

The same situation is unfolding in Mamdani’s Astoria district, where DSA-backed candidate Diana Moreno is running against two other members of the DSA – Rana Adbelhamid and Mary Jobaida. Neither Abdelhamid nor Jobaida explicitly sought the DSA’s nomination.

However, both Romero and Kawas told the Eagle they don’t want to see their race devolve into an “intra-left fight.”

“I am not interested,” said Romero. “I am just not.”

“We're going to see more leftists run in the same race,” he added. “It's a byproduct of all of this, and I firmly believe that we can start to demonstrate now what it looks like to run disciplined campaigns by leftists that does not fracture the coalition that came together to elect Zohran.”

Both said they have met for coffee recently, hoping to keep the campaign focused on policy and on the enactment of Mamdani’s agenda in Albany.

“I think that right now, the most important task that we have at hand is to sustain the movement that has grown in New York City,” Kawas said. “To give people opportunities to be part of campaigns and to volunteer for campaigns that they are excited about, that they're hopeful of, and that are representative of the issues that they care about every single day.”

Migias considered himself a progressive, and said a prominent part of his platform will be building more three-bedroom housing. His newly created website also discusses making healthcare more affordable.

“People don’t feel like they can afford to live in New York anymore,” he said. “This is what I plan to center my campaign around: prioritizing the actual working class people who make this community vibrant and making sure they aren’t priced out of their homes.”

He said he aligns himself with Mamdani on affordability issues as a whole.

“I think the reason why Mayor-elect Mamdani energized so many people to come out and vote is because of his consistent attention to affordability issues,” he said. “Prices continue to rise and wages aren’t keeping up. The middle class needs immediate relief. This is why I align with the mayor on these issues of affordability like pushing for universal childcare and building hundreds of thousands of new permanently affordable housing citywide.”

So far, along with their high profile endorsements, Romero and Kawas have also brought in significant cash in campaign donations.

Kawas pulled in around $20,000 in the first few days of the campaign, and Romero said he has already hit the threshold for matching funds with around $50,000 in donations.

All of that will mean an uphill climb for Migias, who is younger and has yet to pull in high-level support.

“I'm just really excited to bring forward a campaign that I think can really focus on the smaller issues that people just aren't really focusing on in a nationalized environment, and drive common-sense solutions that are going to tackle affordability head on,” he told the Eagle. “I think both candidates are really great, and they're really passionate. It's a really exciting time in politics. So, I certainly expected to see a lot of passionate individuals to jump in the race.”