Among the candidates aiming to campaign in New York’s June 25 primary are Hiram Monserrate, a small-time businessman and former inmate seeking to topple Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an upstart democratic socialist.
Nine days of early voting for the primary election began Saturday.
Ocasio-Cortez, a left-leaning Democratic Socialist incumbent, is facing off against little-known moderate and former Wall Street banker Marty Dolan in the 14th Congressional District, which covers parts of the Bronx and Queens.
AOC has tried to ignore her opponents, refusing to debate while running television ads supporting her reelection bid.
She has instead chosen to focus much of her attention on the reelection of her embattled “Squad” fellow Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who is facing a formidable challenge from moderate Westchester County Mayor George Latimer.
AOC is organizing a rally for Bowman on Saturday with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In the 1st District, which covers much of Suffolk County on Long Island, including the upscale eastern end of the county, several Democrats are hoping to win the party’s nomination to challenge Republican Lee Zeldin’s former House seat and take on Republican incumbent Nick LaLota for his first term.
Centrist John Avlon (a former speechwriter for Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a CNN analyst) will face liberal Stony Brook University professor Nancy Goroff in the primary.
Zeldin defeated Goroff in 2020 but gave up his seat to run for governor in 2022.
Avlon has garnered the support of moderates such as Rep. Tom Suozzi of Long Island, Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens and Rep. Dan Goldman of Lower Manhattan/Brooklyn, as well as Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic Party chairman and Nassau County Democratic leader.
Women’s groups, including Emily’s List, have supported Goroff.
Meanwhile, Democratic Socialist candidates are trying to topple incumbents in the state Assembly, and in the Hudson Valley, a Conservative primary could have an impact on the state Senate race.
The primary for the 56th Assembly District in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, pits two-term incumbent Councilwoman Stephani Zinnerman against DSA-backed challenger Ion Huntley.
Many African-American leaders in Brooklyn have endorsed Zinnerman, including House Democratic Leader Akeem Jeffries, state Attorney General Letitia James and Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneys Bichotte.
Huntley is backed by the DSA, state Sen. Jabari Brisport and the left-leaning New Kings Democrats, who argue that a challenger would be a stronger advocate for tenants.
The real estate industry is funding a super PAC supporting Zinnerman.
In a rematch in the Bronx’s 82nd Congressional District (which includes Co-op City, Throggs Neck, Pelham Bay, Country Club, Westchester Square and City Island), DSA-backed challenger Jonathan Soto is again trying to defeat veteran Democratic Congressman Michael Benedetto.
Benedetto is confident he can win again.
“My opponent is backed by the Democratic Socialists and supports cutting the police budget. Public safety is a big issue,” said Benedetto, 76, a former teacher who was first elected in 2004 and chairs the Assembly’s education committee.
Councilman Ron Kim, who has represented the Flushing-Bayside area of Queens’ 40th Congressional District since 2012 and is seeking his seventh term, is facing a formidable primary challenge from businessman Yi-Andy Chen.
Kim, the first Korean American elected to Congress, served as chair of the Assembly Committee on Aging and clashed with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over COVID-19-related nursing home deaths, including that of her uncle.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams endorsed Kim at a rally Saturday, and the candidate has also been endorsed by state Sen. John Liu, a former city comptroller, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.
But some of his positions are seen as left of conservative Korean and Chinese American supporters, and he narrowly won reelection two years ago against a Republican.
A real estate industry-backed super PAC has backed Chen, a health care executive, as has the New York City Police Benevolent Association.
Chen’s endorsement by the American China Business Association, a business group with ties to China’s Communist government that funded a “friendship mission” to China last year, has attracted attention.
Convicted politician Hiram Monserrate, a former city councilman and former Queens state senator, is making a comeback in the vacant 35th Assembly District seat that covers Elmhurst and Corona, challenging party favorite Larinda Hooks.
The seat has been vacant since the retirement of Rep. Geoffrey Obree.
In Queens’ 37th District, one-term Democratic incumbent Assemblyman Juan Ardila, whose reputation has been tarnished by sexual abuse allegations, is being challenged by Democratic Party-backed candidate Johana Carmona and DSA-backed candidate Claire Valdez.
The Conservative primary in the Hudson Valley’s 42nd State Senate District could influence the winner of the general election for the seat.
Democratic Sen. James Skoufis, who is running for a fourth term, is expected to face a rematch against Republican Dray Houle, whom he narrowly defeated in 2022 by 1,400 votes.
The Orange County Conservative Party has cross-endorsed Fuhr to run in their district in 2022.
But she faces a challenge in the Conservative primary from Tim Mitts, a tax preparer convicted in 2008 of filing fraudulent returns in Kentucky.
Gerald Kasser, chairman of the state Conservative Party, said that if Mitts won the Conservative primary, he could take votes away from Houle, creating a sabotage tactic by ensuring that both candidates would remain on the general election ballot, despite being from different parties.
“Mitz came out of nowhere. He will only help Skoufis if he wins the primary. He will harm our candidate, Dray,” Cassar said.
