New York State Assembly member Claire Valdez, who secured the Democratic nomination in New York's 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, pushed back against sharp criticism from Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who labeled her and other democratic socialist candidates as part of a troubling faction within the party.
In an appearance on CNN's OutFront with host Erin Burnett, Valdez framed the intra-party friction as a sign of strength. “It’s a big-tent party,” she said. “I think what’s important for me right now is saying that we won with a mandate in this race. We won across the entire district.”
Valdez, who has represented the state's 37th District in the Assembly since last year, defeated progressive Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the primary. The two were competing to succeed retiring Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), who had endorsed Reynoso. Valdez’s victory is part of a broader wave of democratic socialist wins in New York primaries, including Darializa Avila Chevalier’s upset over incumbent Representative Adriano Espaillat in the 13th Congressional District.
Fetterman, who has often positioned himself as a moderate Democrat, did not hold back in his assessment of these candidates. During an appearance on Fox News’s Hannity on Wednesday, he described Valdez and Chevalier as part of the “dirtbag left” and warned that their rise is troubling for the party. “Some of these candidates are outrageous. You have candidates, they’re ‘abolish ICE,’ ‘abolish the police,’ ‘abolish the border,’” Fetterman said, signaling a sharp divide between the party’s progressive and moderate wings.
Valdez’s campaign has been backed by prominent democratic socialist figures, including Mamdani, who has argued that these primary victories show voters rejecting the status quo. Mamdani declared that New Yorkers are clearly demanding a break from establishment politics, a sentiment that echoes through Valdez’s own messaging.
The clash between Fetterman and Valdez underscores a deeper struggle within the Democratic Party over its ideological direction. While Fetterman’s criticism targets candidates he sees as extreme, Valdez and her allies view the primary results as a mandate for bold, progressive policies. “We won because voters want real change,” Valdez said, without directly engaging with Fetterman’s “dirtbag left” label.
Valdez’s victory in the heavily Democratic district all but guarantees her a seat in Congress come January, giving her a platform to advance her agenda. The broader primary sweep—which also saw Chevalier’s win—has energized the democratic socialist movement, even as it deepens fractures with more centrist Democrats like Fetterman.
For now, Valdez is focused on the general election, but the intraparty battle is far from over. As she put it, the party’s tent is big enough for both her vision and Fetterman’s warnings.
