Dem
47
GOP
53
As we note in several places above, young progressive Democrats are running for various offices around the country, often against older Democrats. The resounding victory of Zohran Mamdani in NYC has not escaped progressive New York Democrats. All of a sudden, young progressives in NYC are thinking about challenging liberal House Democrats in safe districts.
Two targets are House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY). Their districts are D+24 and D+32, respectively. The potential challengers, Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés, respectively, are seeking the support of the city's DSA chapter. Both challengers are extreme long shots. As minority leader, Jeffries (55) will have the entire Democratic establishment going for him.
Goldman (49) doesn't need institutional support. He is an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and, with a net worth north of a quarter billion dollars, is the eighth richest member of Congress. He has a J.D. from Stanford and was also the lead counsel in Donald Trump's first impeachment. For many Democrats, his having been the actual prosecutor in both Trump's impeachment (in the House) and his trial (in the Senate) establishes his anti-Trump credentials a lot better than any challenger can hope to do. He won his 2024 primary with 66% of the vote. He is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Knocking off a rich progressive Democratic idol will not be so easy.
Other Democratic representatives being targeted are Ritchie Torres, Adriano Espaillat, and Grace Meng. Torres is gay and the other two are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. They won't fall so easily, either. Beating a sleazeball like Andrew Cuomo is one thing, but beating card-carrying progressives is something quite different. Their challengers are going to have to move very far left to put daylight between themselves and the incumbents. That is probably going to force them way out on the fringe. The challengers have their work cut out for them running against incumbents who are themselves progressives. (V)