![\"Brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/52047511687_dfbd7e758c_k-1.jpg\" "\\"NY-7")
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Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.<\/p>\n
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan<\/a> is set to endorse Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso<\/a> on Thursday in the Democratic primary for New York\u2019s 7th Congressional District, amNewYork has learned.<\/p>\n The Hudson Valley-based Congressman is backing retiring Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s preferred successor over Queens Assembly Member Claire Valdez<\/a>, the candidate supported by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n The endorsement adds to Reynoso\u2019s growing list of high-profile backers in the race to replace Vel\u00e1zquez. Reynoso has also secured backing from U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Working Families Party, Make the Road Action, and, most recently, Citizen Action of New York, a progressive grassroots political organization, which included Reynoso in its latest 2026 slate of candidates.<\/p>\n Mamdani, meanwhile, has lined up behind fellow Valdez, a fellow democratic socialist, along with the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the United Auto Workers.<\/p>\n Though the two candidates share similar positions on many key issues, Reynoso has argued that his more than 10 years in elected office sets him apart<\/a> in the race to represent a district spanning western Queens and north Brooklyn \u2014 an area dubbed the \u201cCommie Corridor<\/a>\u201d after Mamdani\u2019s dominant showing there in last year\u2019s mayoral race.<\/p>\n Ryan (NY-18) has developed a broader profile as a pragmatic progressive Democrat from a more moderate Hudson Valley district who is willing to elevate progressive voices elsewhere in the state, last week appearing with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a town hall <\/a>in outgoing Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik\u2019s district in the North Country.<\/p>\n He previously backed Mamdani in the general election for mayor but was notably left off the then-mayor-elect\u2019s 100-member elected advisory committee. In the race to replace Vel\u00e1zquez, however, Ryan is siding with the congresswoman \u2014 whom he has called \u201chis friend\u201d and a \u201cliving legend\u201d \u2014 rather than with Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cAntonio Reynoso is a fierce fighter for his community and a New Yorker through and through,\u201d Ryan said in a statement to amNewYork. \u201cI can\u2019t think of anyone better to carry on the legacy of my friend, the indomitable Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, and know he\u2019ll work every day to deliver for the people of NY-07.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan added that Congress needs \u201cmore fighters \u2013 more parents, more working people living the same reality as the families we represent.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Reynoso called the endorsement an honor and praised Ryan as \u201ca fearless voice in Congress for protecting our democracy, defending our freedoms, and standing up to MAGA extremism.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The split on the city\u2019s left traces back to the fallout from Vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s retirement. After privately discussing possible successors with Mamdani, Vel\u00e1zquez was reportedly caught off guard when he moved to back Valdez, a decision she warned could fracture the left, according to The New York Times<\/a>. Vel\u00e1zquez then threw her support behind one of her own prot\u00e9g\u00e9s, Reynoso.<\/p>\n Since becoming mayor, Mamdani has moved quickly to turn his political capital into a broader endorsement operation. He previously endorsed Diana Moreno, his handpicked successor in Queens, in the special election to replace him in the Assembly \u2014 a race she went on to win. Mamdani\u2019s involvement in the race NY-7 has gone beyond a standard endorsement. As City & State<\/a> noted on Wednesday, he has boosted Valdez both on and off the campaign trail \u2013 appearing with her publicly, joining a fundraising appeal and lending her close political advisers.<\/p>\n