Queens candidates outraise Brooklyn BP in open congressional race

Queens elected officials Claire Valdez and Julie Won are so far outraising Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the open New York 7th Congressional District. Photos by Ryan Schwach, Will Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit

By Ryan Schwach

Queens’ candidates running to replace Nydia Velázquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District outraised her chosen successor, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, during the most recent fundraising period, new filings show.

Queens Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Queens Councilmember Julie Won both outraised their Brooklyn counterpart in the race for the Queens-Brooklyn seat, despite joining the race later than he did.

But while Reynoso raised less than both Valdez and Won, he still holds the most cash on hand in the race.

Between the New Year and the end of March, Valdez raised $751,680, and Won raised $644,604 – both outpacing the $630,067 Reynoso has raised going back to the first fundraising window in December.

Reynoso raised $312,526 in the second window between Jan. 1 and March 31.

But Reynoso also didn’t need as much cash to begin with. The borough president has around $496,000 on hand, the most of his competitors. Won is not far behind with around $490,000 and Valdez still enjoys $478,000 in the bank.

On social media, Valdez highlighted the number of small, individual donors who made up 41 percent of her overall fundraising, according to the campaign.

"Every one of those donors decided this race is worth fighting for," Valdez said in a campaign statement. "Small-dollar donors aren't just a fundraising metric — they're a renewable resource. They give again. They volunteer. They bring their friends. We’re building a grassroots juggernaut.”

The DSA assemblymember who has only been in office since the beginning of 2025 has ridden the wave that Mayor Zohran Mamdani started with his historic win last year, inspiring the socialist org’s army of volunteers and small donors to campaign on her behalf.

The Valdez campaign said over 1,000 people have volunteered for the campaign, and have already knocked on thousands of doors so far.

Reynoso on Thursday said his campaign’s strength came from the money in his campaign’s bank account and his endorsements, including one from 1999SEIU issued this week.

"With the most cash on hand and the largest and most diverse coalition in the race, our campaign has the resources to talk directly to voters across Brooklyn and Queens about Antonio’s record delivering real results for working families,” said campaign manager Annabel Lassally. “This campaign is by and for the people of NY-7."

The race initially began as one between the democratic socialist and progressive movements, but the new fundraising numbers seem to indicate that Won, who had been seen as a spoiler to one of her competitors, may have some juice in the race to compete in the Queens-Brooklyn Congressional territory.

"I'm running to build a country that takes care of people — from the moment they're born to the day they retire," said Won. “The people powering this campaign are the ones who need it the most, and I do not take that responsibility lightly. I’m beyond grateful for their support, and will bring their stories to Washington.”

The 7th Congressional District includes large portions of Queens and Brooklyn, potentially splitting some of the chiefly progressive electorate along borough lines.

Valdez and Won hope they can churn out significant support from their World’s Borough constituents.

For Valdez, that means bringing out the deeply progressive and DSA-friendly enclaves of Ridgewood. For Won, that means galvanizing non-DSA progressives and Asian American voters in areas like Long Island City.

Reynoso has been leaning on his local Brooklyn roots.

Although the Brooklyn BP represented a small portion of Ridgewood when he served as a city councilmember, he has largely had to reintroduce himself in the borough.

“I couldn't be happier to be coming back to Queens,” Reynoso told the Eagle after a campaign rally in Brooklyn in January. “It doesn't matter if I'm in Astoria and LIC in Queens, or I'm out here in Cypress Hills or East New York and Brooklyn, I think we're dealing with the same issues.”