Claire Valdez, a democratic socialist representing parts of Ridgewood, Sunnyside and Long Island City in the State Assembly, has launched a campaign for U.S. Rep Nydia Velázquez’s soon-to-be-vacant seat in Congress.
Valdez, a member of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who has represented the 37th Assembly District since early 2025, announced her campaign to replace Velázquez early Thursday morning and is widely expected to pick up the DSA nomination in the race.
Velázquez announced in November that she would not be seeking re-election for New York’s 7th Congressional District having served 16 terms in Congress. A trailblazer who became the first Puerto Rican woman to ever serve in Congress, Velázquez represents one of the most left-leaning districts in the entire city, including parts of North Brooklyn and Western Queens.
A DSA candidate had long been expected to announce a run for the seat, with Valdez and Astoria Council Member Tiffany Cabán both reportedly expressing interest in running for a district that broke for Mayor Zohran Mamdani by 51% last year.
Announcing her candidacy on Thursday morning, Valdez said her campaign was rooted in “labor organizing, economic justice and opposition to war and genocide.”
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a progressive but more traditional Democratic candidate, had already launched a campaign to replace Velázquez in Congress. Both Reynoso and Valdez share a number of similarities; both are prominent labor organizers and both have described Israel’s actions as a genocide.
A former City Council Member, Reynoso boasts more than a decade of government experience, while Valdez has little government experience but is ideologically aligned with the DSA. She is also a staunch Mamdani ally, giving a rousing speech at a campaign event in Forest Hills Stadium last October where she proclaimed the importance of the DSA movement in combating wealth inequality in the city.
“Zohran didn’t come out of nowhere,” she said last October. “He came out of our movement, our movement that has been fighting for workers and tenants and immigrants and our trans siblings, our movement that believes that, in the richest country this world has ever seen, no one should go without housing and health care.”
Launching her campaign on Thursday, Valdez said there was little question that Democrats would win a majority in the 7th Congressional District but said questions remain over what they “do with it.”
“We need a labor organizer in Washington who will turn Democratic power into a real opposition—one that confronts oligarchy and fascism, opposes genocide and war, and offers a real economic agenda that empowers working people and expands social rights,” Valdez said in a statement announcing her run for Congress.
Valdez grew up in Lubbock, Texas, before moving to New York in 2015 where she became an administrative assistant at Columbia University. There, she became a union organizer with United Auto Workers Local 2110 and was elected to the union’s bargaining committee.
She pointed to a career of low-wage customer service jobs before entering politics and said the labor movement had drawn her to politics rather than the “party machine” or “career ambition.”
Valdez has outlined “Union for All, Housing for All and Medicaid for All” as three central components of her congressional campaign, pledging to pay for the progressive platform by raising taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.
She has also pledged to eschew donations from corporate PACs during the campaign, stating that her campaign will be “powered exclusively” by small donors and grassroots volunteers.
Valdez, meanwhile, has tapped a number of political aides who advised Mamdani during his successful mayoral campaign, including Mamdani’s closest political advisor Morris Katz and former communications director Andrew Epstein.
She was the only elected official to appear at a launch event for Mamdani’s then-long-shot mayoral campaign, and the New York Times has reported that the Mayor has encourged Valdez to run for the soon-to-be-vacant seat.
Valdez is expected to pick up the DSA nomination when the organization begins considering a formal endorsement next month, which could prove significant in a congressional district with more DSA members than any other.
On the other hand, Reynoso has picked up endorsements from a number of City Council Members, including Shekar Krishnan, Jen Gutierrez and Sandy Nurse. He is also expected to pick up an endorsement from Velázquez, according to multiple reports.
