The American Prospect

To the casual observer, the two candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in New York’s Seventh Congressional District to replace retiring 16-term stalwart Nydia Velázquez may look indistinguishable. New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso are both Democrats, and both intend to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), fund affordable housing, institute health care for all, and end Israel’s war on Palestine, which they agree is a genocide.

Both candidates have substantial endorsements from powerful figures and organizations. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani backs Valdez, a fellow Democratic Socialists of America member, as do DSA-NYC and Justice Democrats; Rep. Velázquez, the New York Working Families Party, and state Attorney General Letitia James back Reynoso.

NY-07 is a 22-square-mile section of New York City that covers neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, and includes much of what political analyst Michael Lange last year referred to during Mamdani’s campaign as the “Commie Corridor,” where a “young and hungry leftist base” is “reshaping politics in New York City.” Census data shows that the vast majority of the district’s residents are under 64 years old; 40 percent are white, and 33 percent are Hispanic. Nearly 20 percent live below the poverty line. Mamdani won 67.3 percent of the vote in NY-07 last November, the highest rate of any congressional district in the city. https://buff.ly/llONdwq

In New York’s ‘Commie Corridor,’ a Race Over How to Build Power - The American Prospect The goals of New York Assemblymember Claire Valdez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso are similar. How they intend to meet them is miles apart.