Gov. Ron DeSantis reacted after three New York Democratic congressional candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, won their primaries on Tuesday night while speaking at a press conference in Bradenton. The progressive candidates, Claire Valdez, Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier are all likely favorites to win their general elections in deep-blue New York in November.
"You see this stuff in New York City, just electing people that even five years ago I think would have been thought that would have been impossible to do - that are celebrating terrorism, people that really reject the foundations of this country, which we're now celebrating [America] 250 and I think it's a really, really dangerous trend over there in that party," DeSantis said.
Valdez, a state assemblywoman, defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso with 56% of the vote. Valdez has advocated for free universal healthcare, voting rights for illegal aliens, and using taxpayer funds for transgender surgeries during her campaign.
Lander, who endorsed Mamdani for mayor, defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) with 66% of the vote. A former New York city comptroller, Lander has pushed for student loan forgiveness and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during his campaign.
Chevalier, a community organizer, narrowly defeated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) with 49% of the vote. Chevalier has called for several criminal justice reforms, including abolishing prisons and ICE, as well as defunding the police during her campaign.
Ahead of their victories, Valdez and Chevalier were endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). And while Lander was not, Mamdani's support, given his rise in the Democratic party, arguably opens up an inflection point between the Democratic establishment under House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the progressive wing of the party.
Will the party embrace more entitlements? And who's going to pay for it?
Gov. DeSantis, who has lauded paying down the state's debt and decreasing year-over-year spending during his second term, contrasted Florida's approach to New York's as being a blueprint for success. Fittingly, DeSantis called Mayor Mamdani the future of the Democratic Party before he was elected in October 2025.
"Look at how they're governed, the state of New York has 4 million fewer residents than the state of Florida, our budgets about 117 billion, their budgets $268 billion," DeSantis said. "Where is that money going? So, these are choices that that we have to make as citizens, and who we elect, and what we expect, but we've done it right at the state level."
