DSA-backed Zohran Mamdani wins Astoria Assembly seat

Photo courtesy of campaign

By David Brand

The only Queens assembly candidate endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America has defeated a veteran incumbent to represent Astoria in Albany.

Housing organizer Zohran Mamdani beat Assemblymember Aravella Simotas by 346 votes in the Democratic primary for Assembly District 36 Wednesday, according to unofficial results shared with the Eagle. The primary win in the heavily Democratic district likely assures Mamdani a seat in the state legislature.

Simotas, who was first elected in 2010, narrowed an initial 660-vote primary day deficit during the absentee ballot count but could not overcome the gap.

Mamdani declared victory outside Queens Borough Hall following the completion of the absentee ballot count.

“I’m honored and humbled by the trust placed in me by the voters of Astoria,” he said in a statement. “But the movement you helped us build can’t end here. It has to last beyond any one election or any one candidate. We have to build something that will endure for years to come, to fight for a New York for the many, not the few.”

Simotas congratulated Mamdani in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.

“I wish you the best as you begin your legislative career and fight for the 36th AD,” she said.

During her time in Albany, Simotas fought for the rights of survivors of sexual abuse and harassment. She has voted in favor of tenants rights legislation, including a landmark package of bills in 2019, but Mamdani said her support did not go far enough. He advocates for housing as a guaranteed human right and has called for universal, statewide rent control.

In addition to guaranteed housing, Mamdani has called for the complete elimination of cash bail and solitary confinement and a major funding increase for the MTA.

Mamdani also criticized Simotas’ ties to the Queens County Democratic organization.

Simotas and her supporters, in turn, knocked Mamdani for moving to the Western Queens district less than two years ago.

Despite his recent residency, he said his message appealed to working class voters in the district, particularly from the South Asian and Muslim communities.

“We inspired hundreds of volunteers to knock doors, make phone calls, and organize their blocks and buildings,” he said. “And when the coronavirus struck, we transformed our campaign infrastructure into one of mutual aid, and built one of the largest relief programs for impacted families in the city.”

Mamdani is the latest DSA-backed candidate to perform well in Western Queens, following the 2018 election of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Public defender Tiffany Cabán dominated the Western Queens vote before losing by 60 ballots in the Democratic primary for Queens district attorney in 2019.