RELEASE: 8 South Asian and Indo-Caribbean Backed Candidates Win in New York Democratic Primary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2026

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8 South Asian and Indo-Caribbean Backed Candidates Win in New York Democratic Primary

DRUM Beats endorsed several progressive candidates in June's Democratic Primary who will be partners to Mayor Mamdani and the affordability agenda in Albany and Congress

New York, NY — On Tuesday, June 23rd, New Yorkers elected a slate of progressive candidates across NYC. DRUM Beats is proud to be a part of a broad coalition of working-class and people of color-led organizations, including NYC-Democratic Socialists of America, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9A, New York Communities for Change, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice and many others that put in months of work to elect progressive candidates who will carry forward the fight for affordability, safety, and dignity for working families and immigrants in their districts, across the five boroughs, and beyond.

Claire Valdez won her congressional primary in NY-7. Valdez received DRUM Beats’ Movement Builder endorsement and first ever congressional endorsement for her consistency, willingness to take risks, being highly responsive to social movement priorities, and a solid record of collective accountability. To take on the challenges posed by Trump and authoritarian forces across this country, DRUM Beats is excited to have such a principled candidate one step closer to federal office. 

“It was critical for us to throw down for many of these races. We know the current political setup has failed working class communities for decades, and we have an opportunity here in New York City to break out of that dead end. We can shape elected officials and politics so that they are committed to improving the lives of people,” said Fahd Ahmed, Director of DRUM Beats. “It is this vision that spurs so many of our members to knock doors, make calls, and engage our communities for transformative candidates. Today we were mostly victorious, and we will continue to fight.”

Across Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, DRUM Beats members are heartened by the victories of several candidates who will bring our fight for an affordable NYC to Albany: Aber Kawas SD-12, Jessica González-Rojas SD-13, Kristen Gonzalez SD-59, Samantha Kattan AD-37, David Orkin AD-38, Christian Celeste Tate AD-54, and Karines Reyes AD-87. They will continue the work we started last year with the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani to address the pressing affordability crisis that continues to impact poor and working people across our city. The mayor and our coalition to tax the rich need principled allies in Albany who can help to push forward an agenda that will expand access to affordable housing, healthcare, resources for public education, public transit, and ensure that New York State protects immigrant communities and stands up to Trump.

This election offered the opportunity to engage even more people around what an affordable NYC could be—an NYC where you can rest, where you can have healthcare, where you are able to pay your rent and have money left to spend to enjoy life. DRUM Beats volunteers reached thousands of people at their doors, through calls, and social media who resonated with a vision for investing in care and divesting from war and genocide. 

DRUM Beats membership weighed in on races where incumbents have held onto their positions for years. DRUM Beats challenged candidates who have stood in the way of working people’s demands, who have been bought by the pro-Israel lobby and super wealthy, and refused to work with our coalitions, Mayor Mamdani, and progressive allies to support an affordability agenda. Candidates who built their career offering lip service to low-income communities without any meaningful efforts to make people’s lives easier worsens trust in democratic processes and pushes people out of making decisions that impact them everyday.

Last year, South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities played an outsized role in the successful election of Zohran Mamdani. The progressive wins in Tuesday's primary show that they didn’t just turn out for one cycle, or on the basis of identity. South Asians and Indo-Caribbeans have become activated because they want actual improvement in the lives of working class communities, grounded in a commitment to justice here, in Palestine, and across the world.