AIPAC Loses, as the Left Wins Big in New York
Zohran Mamdani goes three for three with his Congressional endorsements in the New York Democratic primaries. Plus: a UN commission says Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children.
On this day in 2022, five conservative justices on the Supreme Court, three installed by Donald Trump in his first term, ended the federal right to abortion by striking down Roe v. Wade.
Good morning! Andrew here, to recap another major 2026 midterm primary night. And boy, was it a big night for the left in New York. I work for Zeteo, not corporate media, so I can say this without having to pack up my desk: We love to see it, folks.
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ Zohran Mamdani sends three anti-AIPAC Democrats to Congress, John Fetterman cries about it, and a UN panel says Israel “deliberately targeted Palestinian children resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”
An Earthquake in New York
The Democrats’ left flank in Congress is about to expand, and move a whole lot further left, thanks to Zohran Mamdani and the voters of New York.
Mamdani, in his first year as mayor, endorsed three candidates for Congress: Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier. All three campaigned against the pro-Israel lobby, AIPAC. All three won.
Like Mamdani’s victory last fall, Tuesday’s elections represent a political earthquake – in the Democratic Party, in America’s biggest city, and in the hub of global capital.
As Zachary Donnini, head of data science at VoteHub, put it on Twitter, “The Democratic Tea Party is here. Tonight is shaping up to be one of the more consequential nights in recent Democratic politics, with Mamdani- and DSA-endorsed candidates reforming the party.”
Lander, initially a foe in the mayoral race, teamed up with Mamdani to take down Andrew Cuomo before gaining the new mayor’s endorsement in New York’s 10th congressional district. He easily defeated Democratic incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, long a reliable Israel ally, saying: “I will be one of the Jewish members of Congress most willing to stand up for Palestinian human rights.”
The race wasn’t close.
But the other two elections might say even more about where the Democratic Party is headed.