The Democrat establishment poured millions into protecting its incumbents in New York City, but voters chose progressive anti-genocide challengers. That party will fight against the reality that AIPAC is now a liability.
“It's when we don't see the writing on the wall that we run into the bricks.” - Anthony T. Hincks
Last night the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) had a worse night in New York City than the San Antonio Spurs did in Game 4 of the NBA Finals when the World Champion New York Knicks erased a 29 point deficit to earn the win, the largest comeback in NBA playoff history. While giving a rousing speech as part of the ticker tape parade in the team’s honor, New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, reflecting on the Knicks only having a 0.4% chance to win a pivotal Game 4, proclaimed, “Most of all, it's in that .4 percent that the Knicks do what New Yorkers have always done when we are told something is impossible. We find a way. We win.” Mamdani vindicated this sentiment and flexed his political muscle by backing two candidates, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander, running against Democrat Party establishment incumbents, and Claire Valdez, who ran against a seat vacated by a member of the New York City Democrat Party machine…all three won their primary races.
Chevalier and Valdez, in addition to backing from Mamdani, were also backed by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). And while Lander, a former DSA member, was not officially backed by the organization, he was still tied to Chevalier and Valdez through his stance against Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, calls for the U.S. to stop sending military aid to the zionist ethnostate, and his castigation of AIPAC and refusal to accept any of their campaign donations. Israel and AIPAC proved to be, arguably, the largest issue on the minds of New Yorkers last night
While all three of the challengers’ wins are significant, as all three will essentially be elected to their respective seats in November, Chevalier’s win against soon to be former Representative Adriano Espaillat is certainly the most profound and most reminiscent of the odds and elements of the Democrat Party establishment Mamdani overcame to become New York City’s mayor. In addition to vanquishing AIPAC’s financial influence in her race, an estimated $2.8 million in May and June alone, Chevalier was also running against the Democrat Party machine desperate to protect Espaillat, a five term incumbent - including House Minority Leader Hakeem “AIPAC Shakur” Jeffries and AIPAC’s favorite menagerie of bootlickers, the Congressional “Black” Caucus (CBC). Other Espaillat endorsers included New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letisha James, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, and retiring Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez - whose preferred candidate also lost to Claire Valdez in the district she currently represents in Congress. It should also be noted that the CBC endorsed Espaillat over Chevalier who is an Afro Latina of Haitian descent, something that members of Espaillat’s campaign team attempted to use against her through acts of clear and abject racism in the final days of the election.
Mamdani and the New York City chapter of DSA have sent tremors through the halls of the Democrat Party establishment. Even CNN’s favorite cooniferous commentator, Van Jones, concurred that New York City, while not the rest of the nation, is still a stronghold for the Democrat Party establishment - due largely to the fact that Senator Chuck Schumer and Jeffries hold Congressional leadership positions, and further stated, “The roof is collapsing on the Democratic Party establishment…,” while also suggesting that the three wins in New York City represent, “a new era for the Democratic Party.” But does it really?
Just two months ago, the Democrat National Committee (DNC) refused to limit the influence of AIPAC and other dark money groups as part of the party platform. Embattled DNC Chairman, Ken Martin, suggested that the reason for not including an anti-AIPAC specific clause in the platform was because the party, “...passed a resolution earlier in their meeting broadly condemning the influence of dark money in the midterms without calling out individual groups.” This was, of course, an ostensible reason and a perambulation from the larger issue of Israel’s genocide and war crimes, that were, again, confirmed by the United Nations just yesterday. And a former Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign advisor and CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council America, Halie Sofier, in heralding the DNC’s refusal to single out AIPAC, suggested, “There are misconceptions because there is a vocal, far-left faction of our party, but they are in no way leading here.” She continued, “The DNC as a whole has not shifted from where it has been … which is an organization that is inclusive of Jewish Americans and is supportive of the U.S.-Israel security relationship, as well as Israel’s future as a Jewish and Democratic state.”
Sofier appears to be divorced from the reality of her own party as a poll taken in August 2025 revealed that 77% of Democrats believe Israel is committing a genocide, a May 2026 poll revealed that 74% of Democrats oppose providing additional economic and military support to Israel, and another May 2026 poll revealed that 67% of Democrats sympathize more with Palestinians than with Israelis and only 13% have a positive view of Israel. The Mamdani, Chevalier, Chavez, and Lander coalition and DSA’s sweep yesterday prove that they are clearly more aligned with the Democrat Party’s rank and file than the establishment and its donor class. Ironically, longtime Democrat Party strategist, James Carville suggested that DSA-backed lawmakers like Representatives Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Occasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders should “distance themselves from the [Democrat] Party.” This sentiment is also shared by Democrat Party consultants like Third Way who even released a memo suggesting what words candidates should and should not use in an effort to not come across as “too woke.” Sentiments of Carville and Third Way as well as the candidates being backed by Democrat Party leadership, its establishment and its donor class seem to suggest that the party is in the midst of an identity crisis or a potential takeover by leftists/progressive elements. And with the emergence of anti genocide and anti AIPAC Senate candidates like Graham Platner and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed will continue to put the identity and direction of the party to the test.
To be clear, I have no illusions that the Democrat Party will cease being a capitalist and neoliberal corporation whose establishment and donor class will never cede to the platforms and policies of Mamdani, Sanders, and the newly elected members of Congress from New York City. As we witnessed in 2024, the party chose inexorable solidarity with a rogue, white supremacist, and genocidal zionist ethnostate over the will of many of its voters and the presidency itself. And even when Gaza, Palestine, and AIPAC proved to be the reason for its losses in 2024, the party chose to ignore as indicated by the party’s botched release of its tawdry “autopsy report.” The fact that AIPAC has become an electoral albatross, and the same can be said for unconditional fealty and loyalty to Israel, is irrefutable as demonstrated last night. But rather than embracing the age old New York City classic song that begins with the line “Start spreading the news,” it’s more likely that the Democrat Party establishment and its donor class will ignore the headlines and allow the AIPAC albatross to drag the party down like it did in 2024 - zionism and AIPAC blood money, after all, in the words of Rick James, are a “hell of a drug.”
Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright is an international climate and environmental liberation advocate, a racial justice practitioner, and a writer and policy expert residing in the United States with his family and their mischievous cat, “Evil” Ernie. He is a proud and active member of the Black Alliance for Peace and the Movement for Black Lives. His radio program, “Full Spectrum with Anthony Rogers-Wright,” airs on the Mighty WPFW network every Tuesday at 6:00 PM EST.
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