DSA candidates sweep in Queens

Assemblymember Diana Moreno, David Orkin, Samantha Kattan, Aber Kawas, and Claire Valdez, all Democratic Socialist of America candidates, appeared headed to victory in their respective elections on Tuesday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Jacob Kaye and Ryan Schwach

Powered by Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s support and the political energy he generated a year ago, democratic socialist candidates in Queens were on track to sweep races for Congress, the State Senate and State Assembly on Tuesday.

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Assembly candidates Samantha Kattan and David Orkin, and Senate candidate Aber Kawas all appeared headed to victory as unofficial election results were tallied after the polls closed on election day.

It was a powerful showing for Mamdani’s brand in the World’s Borough, where DSA-endorsed candidates were poised to pick up three new seats.

Beyond the dominance of the DSA in Queens, voters appeared generally interested in change. Two incumbents – State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar – appeared to have been toppled by candidates who challenged them from their left.

Valdez, who will likely be elected to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez in New York’s 7th Congressional District in November, was able to celebrate victory early in the night, picking up 56 percent of the vote with around 92 percent of ballots counted an hour after the polls closed. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso had around 35 percent of the vote at the same point in the evening.

Apparent victories were solidified relatively early in the night for the other DSA candidates as well.

Kawas, who is running to replace retiring State Senator Michael Gianaris in District 12, had won around 60 percent of the vote with 95 percent of ballots counted Tuesday night. Assemblymember Steven Raga, Kawas’ only opponent, held around 40 percent of the vote.

With around 94 percent of ballots counted, Kattan held a 50-point lead over both of her opponents, Pia Rahman and Melissa Orlando.

And Orkin, an attorney who was not formally backed by Mamdani but who received an endorsement from the DSA, received nearly 59 percent of the vote over Rajkumar, who has represented Assembly District 38 since 2021. She was one of several young candidates from Queens that year to defeat an incumbent on the way to victory. Also among them was Mamdani, whose political influence appeared to play a role in Rajkumar’s ousting.

At 99 Scott, a live music venue in Brooklyn where the DSA held a joint Queens results party, the crowd erupted as soon as the initial votes were counted. They did not stop as the results continued to pour in.

This time last year, many of the same DSA members and elected officials were celebrating what seemed at the time like the mountain top – a DSA member had been elected to be the Democratic nominee for mayor. On Tuesday, they celebrated a complete and overwhelming sweep of every Queens race they contested.

“It's what we dreamed of, what we worked our asses off for,” said Assemblymember Diana Moreno, who won a special election to replace Mamdani in the Assembly in February and who cruised to victory on Tuesday. “These are the results of an actual democracy, people power at work. We are showing that we can defeat the establishment.”

Jessica defeats Jessica

Around a year after she shocked New York’s political world and backed Andrew Cuomo over Mamdani in the race for mayor, State Senator Jessica Ramos appeared on Tuesday to lose her bid for reelection. 

Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas was leading Ramos by 10 points on Tuesday evening – former State Senator Hiram Monserrate, who was kicked out of the body over a decade ago after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault charges, finished a distant third in the race. 

Ramos appeared to alienate the progressive groups she once was a part of when she endorsed the former governor over Mamdani. She also upset establishment Democrats in Queens when she decided not to support Mets owner Steve Cohen’s bid for a casino.

Her lack of allies likely contributed to her defeat on Tuesday. 

While González-Rojas was not endorsed by Mamdani, she was backed by nearly every progressive lawmaker in the city. 

Brian Romero, González-Rojas’ former chief of staff, appeared headed to victory in his race to replace his former boss in Assembly District 34. He held around 67 percent of the vote while his opponent, Rosa Sanchez, received 32 percent of the vote. 

Romero, a DSA member, was not endorsed by the progressive organization but did receive an endorsement from the mayor. 

Queens County Democratic Party shows mixed results

Candidates backed by the Queens County Democratic Party saw varied levels of success on Tuesday. 

Pesach Osina, who was running to replace retiring Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato in District 23, appeared to defeat attorney Mike Scala on Tuesday by around 20 percentage points. 

Osina, a longtime government staffer, was endorsed by the Queens Dems. 

In Assembly District 32 in Southeast Queens, Nathaniel Hezekiah III, who was backed by the Queens Dems, appeared headed to victory in the crowded Democratic primary to succeed retiring Assemblymember Vivian Cook. 

But victory wasn’t sealed for all the party’s candidates. 

Patrick Martinez, the Queens Dems’ choice to replace Raga in Assembly District 30, held a slim lead over former NYPD detective Shamsul Haque on Tuesday night. 

Martinez, the nephew of the party’s former chair, Joe Crowley, was up only 13 votes over Haque with around 99 percent of ballots counted. 

The race will likely head to a recount. 

This is a developing story. Check back for more on Queens’ election results.