Democratic Congressional candidate Brad Lander [R] stands with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani [L] after winning the 10th District Democratic primary on June 23 [Getty]
A cluster of progressive, outspokenly pro-Palestine Democrats have secured high‑profile primary wins against AIPAC‑aligned opponents, signalling a real shift in how parts of the party talk about Israel, Gaza and the power of the pro‑Israel lobby.
Their victories in safe blue seats mean several new critics of Israel and AIPAC are now set to enter Congress next year, challenging Democratic discourse over war, aid and the Palestine question.
In New York’s 10th Congressional District, Brad Lander, a left‑wing Jewish comptroller and ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, defeated incumbent Dan Goldman in a Democratic primary that turned into a referendum on Israel and Gaza.
Lander campaigned as a vocal critic of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and of the influence of AIPAC, positioning himself as a Jewish progressive willing to back conditioning US military aid in response to human rights abuses.
“We cannot compromise on anyone’s humanity. This one should be straightforward, but alas it sure doesn’t feel that way right now,” Lander said to his supporters following his win on Tuesday night. “Democrats are painfully divided by our differences over the US relationship to Israel and Palestine, and we have to face up to it squarely. Our party needs to admit that Joe Biden’s ‘hug Bibi’ strategy was a catastrophic failure. I believe it made us complicit in genocide.”
“Bombs we paid for killed over 70,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Tanks we sent made over a million people homeless. Humanitarian aid is still not getting in. We cannot keep paying for Netanyahu’s wars with our tax dollars,” he added.
On the other hand, Goldman, a staunchly pro‑Israel Democrat who had been closely aligned with AIPAC and had defended expansive US military support for Israel, saw millions of dollars in outside spending fail to protect him against his challenger.
His loss is being read by progressives as evidence that AIPAC’s money is no longer a guarantee of safety in deep‑blue districts where the Gaza war has radicalised younger and left‑leaning voters.
Mamdani’s influence was even clearer in the race next door in New York’s 13th Congressional District, where Darializa Avila Chevalier – a former organiser at the University of Columbia’s Gaza encampment – ousted Adriano Espaillat, another AIPAC‑endorsed incumbent, after running on an explicitly pro‑Palestine, anti‑occupation platform.
Chevalier framed her win as a blow against “foreign money” in US politics and pledged to join a growing bloc inside Congress demanding a permanent ceasefire, an end to unconditional military aid and accountability for alleged Israeli war crimes.
Likewise in NY-7, Mamdani-backed socialist Claire Valdez secured over 56% of the votes and won the Democratic nomination for an open House seat in Queens and Brooklyn.
“Tonight we haven’t just won an election. We declared that this movement is durable, that it is growing and that it will not stop until working people are not just asked to build the table, no longer just offered a seat at the table, but will run the table,” Valdez said at her victory party, attended by the New York Mayor, on Tuesday.
The New York results follow an earlier win in New Jersey, where progressive organiser Analilia Mejia defeated former congressman Tom Malinowski in the primary. Meija has openly referred to Israel’s actions inside Gaza as genocidal, with her support surging in recent months despite heavy outside spending aimed at branding her as ‘extreme’.
These contests come against the backdrop of AIPAC’s aggressive interventions in previous cycles, including the defeats of Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush after multi‑million‑dollar waves of attack ads, and a broader strategy of trying to quarantine the party’s leftists.
