Queens assemblymember Claire Valdez announced today that she’s running for New York’s 7th congressional district, vying to replace the outgoing representative, Nydia Velázquez.
Valdez, a union organizer with UAW Local 2110 and DSA member, represents Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, and Ridgewood. She ousted Juan Ardila, who was accused of sexual assault by two women, in the Democratic primary in 2024.
“I came to politics through low-wage jobs and the labor movement,” she wrote on Instagram. “That’s the perspective I’ll bring to Washington to take on oligarchy, fascism, and war—and win for working people.”
Valdez’s entry pits her against Antonio Reynoso, the current Brooklyn Borough President who announced a run last month. In an overwhelmingly left district spanning Brooklyn and Queens, dubbed by pundits as “the Commie Corridor,” this particular race is seen as a referendum of new mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political influence and the possible divides between leftists and progressives, two groups that generally caucus together in local politics.
Several elected officials, including city council members Lincoln Restler and Jennifer Gutiérrez, already endorse Reynoso.
However, Valdez also enjoys an advantage of her own, as several close Mamdani advisors are assisting on her campaign.
Velázquez has served as a mentor to a whole generation of elected officials and community leaders. So far, she has declined to put her thumb on the scale but said she was confident that the district “will remain in good hands.”
No sale!