It’s not just Knicks fever or World Cup fans heating things up this summer in the city. Voters across the five boroughs will cast their ballots on June 23 in some hotly contested primary races. The precursor to the November midterms will provide an important look into voter attitudes on a range of issues — including immigration.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani himself is adding fuel to the primary race fire, throwing his support behind three Congressional candidates who are running to the left of their Democratic opponents.
The first is former NYC comptroller Brad Lander, who is fighting for the 10th district seat against two-term incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman. The second is union organizer, Assemblymember and democratic socialist Claire Valdez, taking on Brooklyn Borough President Anthony Reynoso in the 7th district. And third, is Darializa Avila Chevalier, another democratic socialist who is facing down Rep. Adriano Espaillat on his longtime political turf in the 13th district.
Those races are definitely ones to watch, and may prove to be a litmus test for the future success of the socialist movement in New York City against establishment Democrats. The six other Congressional races across the city also carry weight, including the 12th district — one of the wealthiest in the nation — which is up for grabs with Rep. Jerry Nadler stepping down after a 33-year run.
On the immigration front: The vast majority of candidates on the ballot say that ICE should be abolished or dismantled, and that communities and workers in the city should be given opportunities and pathways to citizenship.
So, taken alone, candidates’ stances on immigration are not likely to distinguish them from the pack. Instead, it’s the intersection of pressing issues related to cost-of-living, quality of life and threats from the Trump administration that appear to be driving voter concerns.
We asked Documented readers to let us know what issues were top-of-mind as they head to the primary polls this year. Their responses were clear: immigration, affordability, healthcare and housing were their leading concerns.
As early voting kicks off, below is a quick round-up of the Congressional candidates’ platforms posted online and how they stack up on these issues.
Jump to:
6th district
7th district
9th district
10th district
11th district
12th district
13th district
14th district
15th district
Meet the candidates (listed in alphabetical order by last name):
6th district
Queens neighborhoods including Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Forest Hills and parts of Corona, Jackson Heights and Bayside
Candidates
Incumbent: Grace Meng | https://www.gracefornewyork.com/
- 💵Affordability: Protect social security
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All
- 🏠Housing: Fund NYCHA; Pathway to Stable and Affordable Housing for All Act; Housing is a Human Right Act
- 🌎Immigration: New Deal for New Americans Act; immigration reform
Chuck Park | https://chuckforqueens.com/
- 💵Affordability: Universal childcare income
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All
- 🏠Housing: More affordable housing; fully fund HUD; repeal Faircloth Amendment
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE
7th district
Parts of Brooklyn including Bushwick, Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn, and parts of Queens, including Long Island City and Astoria
No Incumbent: Nydia Velázquez retiring
Candidates
Vichal Kumar | https://www.kumar4ny.com/
- 💵Affordability: Combat corporate price gouging in energy bills; eliminate junk fees; support small businesses; stronger consumer protections
- 🏥Healthcare: Universal healthcare
- 🏠Housing: Strengthen tenant protections; eliminate caps on assistance programs; increase supply of affordable housing; accessible lending and downpayment assistance for working class families
- 🌎Immigration: Dismantle ICE
Paperboy Love Prince | https://paperboyprince.com/
- 💵Affordability: Universal basic income; freeze prices of basic necessities; eradicate poverty
- 🏥Healthcare: Universal healthcare; 100% public management of water; establish food sovereignty; regulate junk food
- 🏠Housing: Strengthen tenant protections; public housing expansion; action against speculation
- 🌎Immigration: No direct information on site
Antonio Reynoso | https://www.reynosoforcongress.com/
- 💵Affordability: No direct information on site
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for all
- 🏠Housing: Expand rental assistance; repair NYCHA; repealing Faircloth Amendment; crack down on Wall Street speculators
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; fight to establish legal pathways to citizenship;
Claire Valdez | https://clairevaldezforcongress.com/
- 💵Affordability: Union-led wage growth, federal jobs guarantee
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for all
- 🏠Housing: Universal rent control; full supply of homes through public investment; right to a safe home; tenant power and landlord accountability
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish and dismantle ICE; stand with communities targeted by ICE; address root causes of mass migration; immigration reform that legalizes status for millions
- Ⓜ️Endorsed by Mayor Mamdani
Julie Won | https://www.juliewon.com/
- 💵Affordability: Universal childcare and aftercare; burial assistance
- 🏥Healthcare: Universal healthcare and homecare
- 🏠Housing: Expand rental and utility assistance; protect tenant’s rights through legislation and federal funding; house the homeless through funding and housing programs; build more affordable housing; combat speculation to support homeowners
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; end family separation; protect sanctuary cities
9th district
Neighborhoods in Brooklyn including Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Borough Park, Kensington
Joshua A. Bristol | https://joshuabristol.com/
- 💵Affordability: Pro-union; affordable transit; raise minimum wage
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All
- 🏠Housing: Repeal Faircloth Amendment; expand Section 8 vouchers; expand rent controls; protect tenants from price gouging and unjust evictions
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; protect DREAMers and TPS holders; end private immigration detention
Incumbent: Yvette Clark | https://voteyvette.com/
- 💵Affordability: Reformulation of median income in district so affordable housing has broader accessibility; proponent of paid family leave
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All; add Black Women’s Health Week to national health observances; has passed legislation related to opioid crisis; supports reproductive rights
- 🏠Housing: Co-sponsor of the Public Housing Emergency Response Act; Introduced Hardest Hit Housing Act to provide more funding for various housing programs
- 🌎Immigration: Protect DACA recipients; ASPIRE Act to protect TPS holders
Mike Goldfarb | https://www.mikeforbrooklyn.org/
- 💵Affordability: Universal childcare
- 🏥Healthcare: Universal healthcare; dental care for veterans; veterans’ mental healthcare
- 🏠Housing: Build more housing
- 🌎Immigration: Immigration reform; pathways to citizenship for immigrants without legal status; “restart” system
10th district
Parts of Manhattan including the West Village, Lower East Side, Tribeca and the Financial District, and parts of Brooklyn including Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and Sunset Park.
Candidates
Incumbent: Rep. Dan Goldman | https://www.dangoldmanforny.com/ | info@dangoldmanforny.com
- 💵Affordability: Universal childcare and family leave; cheaper food and essentials; clean and affordable energy
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All; lower costs of prescription drugs; reverse Republican cuts to Medicaid; invest in mental health resources for Medicaid recipients
- 🏠Housing: Expand first-time homebuyer credits; lower costs by tackling junk fees and predatory practices; invest in NYCHA
- 🌎Immigration: No direct information on site
Brad Lander | https://www.bradlanderforcongress.com/
- 💵Affordability: Supports labor organizing; protect gig workers
- 🏥Healthcare: Protect abortion rights; Medicare for All
- 🏠Housing: Build more affordable housing; street-to-home vouchers; support public housing; protect tenants with “Responsible Property Management Standards”;
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE and reform immigration system;
- Ⓜ️Endorsed by Mayor Mamdani
11th district
Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst
Mike DeCillis | https://www.decillisforcongress.com/ |
- 💵Affordability: Pro-union; promises to address “stagnant wages” and housing and groceries costs
- 🏥Healthcare: Lower healthcare costs; advocate for a single-payer system of healthcare
- 🏠Housing: Nothing specific written on site
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; immigration reform
*Note: Troy McGhie, Allison Ziogas, and Umar Usman have suspended their campaigns but will appear on the ballot
12th district
Midtown Manhattan, the Upper West and East Sides and Central Park
No incumbent (Nadler retiring)
Candidates
Alex Bores | https://www.alexbores.nyc/
- 💵Affordability: Proposes cost-of-living exemption to adjust federal tax brackets; plans to modernize Amtrak to be cheaper and faster; fight Trump tariffs; lower insurance premiums, expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit; supports Child Care for Working Families Act; End junk fees
- 🏥Healthcare: Supports passage of Medicare for All; lower drug prices; protect reproductive freedom; protect NIH research
- 🏠Housing: Declare national housing emergency and utilize Defense Production Act; reform Area Median Income (AMI) calculations; repeal The Faircloth Amendment; change NEPA and environmental reviews to speed up construction; secure more funding to invest in NYCHA developments; end land speculation; Stop rent-gouging and provide federal tax credits for some renters
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; fund immigration courts; secure pathways to citizenship for immigrants without legal status and DREAMers; reform H-1B visas
George Conway | https://www.georgeconwayforcongress.com/ | press@georgeconwayforcongress.com
- No policies listed on website
Laura Dunn | https://lauradunnforcongress.com/
- 💵Affordability: Index social security benefits to inflation; expand grants and financing programs for small businesses
- 🏥Healthcare: Provide universal catastrophic coverage; eliminate restrictive provider networks; crack down on medical fraud; psychedelic healing access
- 🏠Housing: Incentivize development of affordable housing for seniors and artists
- 🌎Immigration: Create accessible pathways to citizenship; abolish ICE; ensure right to counsel for all immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers; maintain and expand H-1B access
Micah Lasher | https://micahlasher.com/
- 💵Affordability: Repeal Trump’s tax breaks for the rich; expand federal investment in child care; support Child Care Modernization Act; expand access to Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act; Raise national minimum wage, indexed to inflation; co-sponsor PRO act
- 🏥Healthcare: Push for passage of Medicare for All; increased funding for community-based health services and mental healthcare; strengthen ACA and extend subsidies; support Lowering Drug Costs for American Families Act; reverse Medicaid cuts; support Women’s Health Protection Act to protect abortion rights
- 🏠Housing: Push for pro-housing policies at state and local level; expand housing tax credits and rental assistance
- 🌎Immigration: Fight to abolish ICE; vote for Restoring Access to Detainees Act; support Protecting Our Democracy Act; fight to pass the For the People Act; Support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Jack Schlossberg | https://jackfornewyork.com/
- 💵Affordability: Plans to introduce legislation to outlaw Trump tariffs on food and clothing
- 🏥Healthcare: Work towards universal healthcare; protect Medicaid; extend enhanced ACA premium subsidies; expand prescription drug price negotiations; lower costs for those with employer-sponsored insurance; invest in 9/11 health program; Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act
- 🏠Housing: Create a federal renter tax credit; launch a “Fix-it-now” caucus for NYCHA residents to improve safe, livable housing; repeal the SALT cap for homeowners
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; improve pathways to citizenship; modernize border security; increase legal resources for immigrants and asylum seekers
Nina Schwalbe | https://www.ninafornyc.com/
- 💵Affordability: Expand Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); fully fund the Weatherization Assistance Program; protect consumers from corporate price-gouging with energy costs
- 🏥Healthcare: Protect Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA; expand Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs); restore full federal funding for safety net hospitals; protect reproductive freedom;
- 🏠Housing: Create a Social Housing Development Authority; repeal the Faircloth Amendment; Expand HUD rental assistance
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE and replace with “accountable” immigration enforcement agency; guarantee legal representation for immigration court; pass American Dream and Promise Act for DREAMers and TPS holders; secure full federal reimbursement to New York City for migrant services costs; fund orgs providing legal aid, English language instruction, resettlement support
13th district
Upper Manhattan including Inwood, Washington Heights, Harlem and Morningside Heights; and Bronx neighborhoods including Fordham, Bedford Park and Kingsbridge.
Candidates
Darializa Avila Chevalier | https://www.darializaforcongress.com/
- 💵Affordability: Raise federal minimum wage to $15/h; create universal childcare nationwide; increase social security benefits; guarantee tuition-free community college for working class students
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All; lower prescription costs; reproductive care, including abortion; long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities; gender-affirming care for everyone, especially LGBTQ+ communities
- 🏠Housing: Protect tenants; fully fund Section 8; fully fund NYCHA; prevent deed theft; build affordable housing
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; expand pathways to citizenship; mandate free legal representation; fund programs to support immigrants
- Ⓜ️Endorsed by Mayor Mamdani
Incumbent: Adriano Espaillat | https://www.adrianoespaillat.com/
- 💵Affordability: Mentioned as a top issue on site, but no details on policy proposals
- 🏥Healthcare: No direct information on site
- 🏠Housing: Affordable housing and fund NYCHA; protect tenant’s and renter’s rights
- 🌎Immigration: Dismantle ICE; defend due process; protect communities from enforcement; *Espaillat is the first, formerly undocumented Congressmember
Oscar Romero | https://www.oscarforcongress.com/
- 💵Affordability: Make public colleges and universities tuition-free; cancel student debt
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All; reduce prescription drug costs; expand reproductive healthcare services; expand access to mental health services; protect reproductive rights; protect and expand access to gender affirming care
- 🏠Housing: Invest in repairs for NYCHA; protect tenant’s rights; protect section 8; regulate unlawful leases; expand support for first time homebuyers
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; protect due process; end for-profit detention; support the New Way Forward Act; create pathways to citizenship
14th district
Eastern Bronx and north-central Queens, includes Astoria, Jackson Heights, North Corona, Bronx River, Castle Hill, City Island
Incumbent: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | https://www.ocasiocortez.com/splash
- 💵Affordability: Curb rent increases; stop unjust evictions; protections for homeowners; ensure rental access to lower income renters; expand Social Security
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All; expand Medicare
- 🏠Housing: Build new, affordable housing including special housing for low-income seniors; repair public housing
- 🌎Immigration: Abolish ICE; economic support for undocumented immigrants
Felipe Garcia | https://www.garcia2026.com/
- 💵Affordability: Lower energy costs; workforce development
- 🏥Healthcare: “15-Minute Mental Health Guarantee” rapid-response teams
- 🏠Housing: Stabilize housing expenses
- 🌎Immigration: Nothing specific written on site
15th district
South Bronx, including the neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Morrisania and Riverdale
Candidates
Michael Blake | https://www.michaelblakeforcongress.com/
- 💵Affordability: Cancel student debt; lower grocery and energy bills; make childcare free for low-income families; expand fare-free transit for low-income New Yorkers; protect food benefits
- 🏥Healthcare: Medicare for All; New York Safe Staffing Act (improves working conditions for nurses); focus on Black and Latina maternal health
- 🏠Housing: Rent freeze for rent stabilized tenants; fix NYCHA backlog; build more affordable housing, including for seniors; eliminate credit checks for affordable housing and first time homebuyers
- 🌎Immigration: Prosecute ICE; repeal the Laken Riley Act
Incumbent: Ritchie Torres | https://torres.nyc/
- 💵Affordability: No concrete policy positions, though highlights it as a priority on campaign website
- 🏥Healthcare: No information on website
- 🏠Housing: Mentions growing up in Section 8 housing on campaign website
- 🌎Immigration: No information on website
Jose Vega | https://votevega.nyc/
- 💵Affordability: No information on website
- 🏥Healthcare: Return to standards in the Hill-Burton Act of 1946 to increase hospital capacity
- 🏠Housing: No information on website
- 🌎Immigration: Wants to take an economic approach to immigration policy; rely on immigrant labor to support a “national industrialization policy”
