Democrats are expected to take control of the House after Tuesday’s midterm elections. Their new majority may come with an added complication: a group of insurgent left-wing lawmakers whose demands could test party leaders over the next two years.
Several candidates associated with democratic socialism won primary races, and are now projected to enter Congress next year.
Darializa Avila Chevalier is projected to represent New York’s 13th District, covering Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx. She defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in a primary shaped by a broader backlash against incumbents.
Chevalier was born in Florida to parents who immigrated from the Dominican Republic. She later moved to New York to attend Columbia University. Republican lawmakers have criticized past remarks attributed to her, including a since-deleted post on X in which she reportedly said she had wiped her hand on an American flag after forgetting to bring napkins.
She has not yet backed House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Chevalier said she wanted commitments on progressive priorities, including Medicare for All.
Claire Valdez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, also won an upset primary in New York. She beat a candidate supported by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez and is projected to succeed her in the 7th District, which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens.
Valdez currently serves in the New York State Assembly. Her campaign website describes her as a dual citizen of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation and the United States. She has not said whether she will support Jeffries for speaker, telling New York Magazine she would not negotiate publicly and wanted to see how the midterms played out.
In Michigan, Donavan McKinney is projected to represent the 13th District, which includes parts of Detroit and nearby suburbs. A Democratic Socialists of America member, he defeated Rep. Shri Thanedar in the primary and received support from prominent progressives, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
McKinney has said his main priorities include Medicare for All, universal childcare and removing corporate money from elections. In an interview with Jacobin, he accused Thanedar of accepting donations from immigration detention contractors, pro-Israel groups and other corporate interests.
Israel was a central issue in the race. Thanedar, who had previously belonged to the DSA, left the organization after some members celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
In Colorado, DSA member and former attorney Melat Kiros defeated longtime Rep. Diana DeGette in the primary for the state’s 1st District, ending DeGette’s congressional career. DeGette, a Democrat who had served since 1997, lost to Kiros, a 29-year-old political newcomer.
Kiros was born in Ethiopia shortly before her father was selected in the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery, according to her campaign website. She has faced criticism for her views on Israel, including reportedly describing the Oct. 7 attack as an “inevitable” outcome of Israel’s actions and opposing Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. Kiros has also declined to commit to supporting Jeffries for speaker.
Pennsylvania state lawmaker Chris Rabb is expected to join the House next year, representing the state’s 3rd District. Rabb, a democratic socialist, has called for dismantling the military-industrial complex, ending what he describes as imperialist foreign policy and stopping U.S.-led efforts to change foreign governments.
His campaign platform also includes universal basic income, guaranteed housing, high-speed internet, free public transit and national grocery stores. In an August appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Rabb criticized establishment Democrats, saying voters were exhausted and that listening to corporate-aligned party figures was probably the wrong approach.
Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller, has left the DSA over its response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Still, some of the organization’s most prominent members, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, backed his campaign.
Lander’s race for New York’s 10th District, which includes lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, became a contest between the state’s Democratic establishment and its socialist wing. Mamdani supported Lander, while Jeffries backed his opponent, Rep. Dan Goldman. Lander also campaigned with Chevalier and Valdez.
Although he left the DSA over its response to the attack, Lander remains a sharp critic of Israel. Israeli authorities detained him during a visit to the occupied West Bank, where he had joined Palestinian olive farmers harvesting their crop, and released him after identifying him. Unlike several of the other left-wing candidates from New York, Lander has indicated that he is likely to support Jeffries for speaker.
