Your guide to voting in NYC congressional and state comptroller primaries

The Knicks aren’t the only ones fighting for a big win this June.

Voting begins Saturday in an unusually competitive slate of congressional primaries with big implications for the Democratic Party's future and the makeup of the city’s congressional delegation.

A seat currently held by the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress is up for grabs. Same with the marquee seat covering Times Square as well as the Upper West and Upper East sides. And a fight over the congressional seat representing Uptown Manhattan and part of the Bronx represents a test of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political power in neighborhoods of color.

Looming over all the races is support of Israel — mirroring a debate playing out in Democratic circles around the country.

Beyond the congressional races, Democrats can also vote in the primary for state comptroller, as well as some state legislative, judicial and party position races.

The only Republican primaries in New York City are for the 86th Assembly District in the West Bronx; the 22nd Senate District in Brooklyn, which stretches from Borough Park to Sheepshead Bay; the 26th Assembly District in Northeast Queens; and the 3rd Congressional District, which includes a small portion of northeast Queens. Most of the 3rd Congressional District is in northern Nassau County.

Here’s your guide to voting in the primary.

Who can vote?

New York state has closed primaries, which means only registered voters in the party holding a primary are eligible to cast a ballot. The vast majority of primaries in the city are only open to registered Democrats. If you are eligible to vote but are not yet registered, you have until Saturday, June 13 to complete your voter registration.

How and when to vote in NYC

If you want to vote in person, here’s where you can find your polling site.

You’ll need to remember these key dates.

June 13: Early in-person voting begins. Check the hours at your poll site before heading out. This is also the last date a new voter can register for this election.

June 21: End of early voting.

June 23: Primary Day. Note your poll site could differ from your early voting site.

Top congressional primaries

NY-7

The district stretches from Bushwick, Williamsburg, and Cypress Hills in North Brooklyn across the Queens border to Woodhaven, Ridgewood, Sunnyside and Long Island City.

Leading candidates:

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso has the endorsement of La Luchadora herself, retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez, the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, along with New York State Attorney General Letitia James and the Working Families Party. Reynoso grew up in the district and represented his Williamsburg stomping grounds in the City Council from 2013 through 2021, when he was elected to his current office. He lives in Williamsburg.

Assemblymember Claire Valdez is part of a slate of progressive candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Valdez is a democratic socialist and is serving her first term in the New York State Assembly representing the 37th Assembly District, which includes her home neighborhood of Ridgewood in Queens. Valdez is originally from Lubbock, Texas, and came to the city just over a decade ago. She was a union organizer with the United Auto Workers. She claims dual citizenship with the United States and the Native American tribe of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation.
City Councilmember Julie Won was elected in 2021 after defeating 14 other candidates in the city’s first ranked-choice primary election. She became the Council's first Korean-American member. Won has endorsements from several prominent Asian American elected officials, including state Sen. John Liu, Assemblymember Ron Kim and U.S. Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey.

Vichal Kumar is also on the ballot.

What it’s about: A contest between Mamdani’s growing democratic socialist movement versus the progressive Democratic establishment and left-leaning Working Families Party.

Read: 📖
- Mamdani endorses DSA ally in race for Brooklyn-Queens congressional seat
- 'Disgusting' NYPD, ICE interaction becomes issue in race to succeed Rep. Velázquez

- The district that ‘belongs to the left’: WFP details its primary strategy in NY

Listen: 🎧
The Brian Lehrer Show Democratic Primary Forum: NY-7

NY-10

The district includes Lower Manhattan neighborhoods of Tribeca, Battery Park City, Chinatown and the Lower East Side and extends across the East River into Dumbo, Brooklyn Heights, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Park Slope and Borough Park.

Rep. Dan Goldman is running for his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives. A former federal prosecutor, Goldman led the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in 2019. Goldman has the endorsement of Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He is an heir to the Levi Strauss denim fortune and lives in Manhattan.

Brad Lander served in the New York City Council for three terms from 2010-2021. He served one term as city comptroller before running unsuccessfully for mayor in 2025. During last year’s mayoral primary, he cross-endorsed with Zohran Mamdani, who has endorsed him in this congressional race. Lander has the support of the progressive Working Families Party.

What it’s about: A race that captures the reckoning over the Democratic Party’s support of Israel and fury over incumbent Democrats’ inaction against the Trump administration.

Read: 📖
- Brad Lander will run for Congress, setting up progressive clash with Dan Goldman

- Hochul for Goldman, Mamdani for Lander in tight Lower Manhattan primary

- Primary foes Goldman, Lander unite against Park Slope Food Coop Israel boycott

- Lander, Goldman spar over Park Slope Food Coop after Israel boycott vote

Listen: 🎧
The Brian Lehrer Show Democratic Primary Forum: NY-10

NY-12

Set in the heart of Manhattan, this Upper East and Upper West Side district runs south to include Hells Kitchen, Times Square, Chelsea and Stuyvesant Town.

Assemblymember Alex Bores was elected in 2022 to the New York State Assembly representing the Upper East Side, where he grew up and now lives. Bores is a computer scientist who began his career working at Palantir. He has been endorsed by several major unions including District Council 37, the United Federation of Teachers and the New York State Nurses Association. He also has been endorsed by Our Revolution, the organization founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Assemblymember Micah Lasher was elected in 2024 for his first term in the New York State Assembly representing the Upper West Side, where he grew up and now lives. He most recently served as policy director for Gov. Kathy Hochul. He was also an aide to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has been endorsed by Hochul, Bloomberg and retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.

George Conway is an attorney who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and a former Republican who cofounded the Lincoln Project, a right-leaning SuperPAC that opposes President Donald Trump. Conway is running for the seat on one issue: impeaching and removing Trump from office. He has said he would only serve one term.

Jack Schlossberg is the only grandson of the late former President John F. Kennedy. As the youngest candidate in the race, Schlossberg’s resume includes work on behalf of the Biden-Harris campaign and at the State Department. He has also cultivated a wide audience on social media platforms.

Nina Schwalbe is a scientist who has worked for decades on public health issues. She led the Biden administration's $7 billion COVID-19 vaccine program and led public health for UNICEF. She is a proponent of LGBTQ+ rights. She and her partner are raising their children on the Upper West Side.

Also on the ballot: Chris Diep, Laura Dunn and Patrick Timmins

What it’s about: A free for all for the richest, bluest congressional seat in the country.

Read: 📖

- The Zabar’s vote: In race for Rep. Jerry Nadler's old seat, where do shoppers stand?

- The candidate trying to fight past the boys club vying for retiring Rep. Nadler's seat

- AI foe or crypto bro? Big tech spending dominates debate for Manhattan House seat.

Watch: 📺

- NY1 and WNYC debate for NY-12

NY-13

The Upper Manhattan and West Bronx district includes East Harlem, Central Harlem, Morningside Heights, Washington Heights and Inwood as well as Kingsbridge, Bedford Park, Fordham, University Heights and parts of Morris Heights.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was elected to this seat a decade ago, marking a shift from a historically Black district to one where Latino and white voters made up the majority of the electorate. He currently serves as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Espaillat also served in the New York State Senate and Assembly.

Darializa Avila Chevalier is a democratic socialist who works as an investigator for a public defender’s office in Harlem. She was one of the lead organizers of the campus protests at Columbia University against Israel’s war in Gaza. She has been endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the New York City Democratic Socialists of America.

Also on the ballot: Oscar J. Romero Jr., Theo Chino

What it’s about: Another race testing Mamdani’s influence versus the party establishment.

Read: 📖

- Mayor Mamdani flexes political power with endorsement of Espaillat challenger

- From insurgent to establishment: Rep. Espaillat reckons with uptown shift to the left

- The super PAC complicating the narrative for NYC progressives in Democratic primaries

Listen: 🎧
- The Brian Lehrer Show Democratic Primary Forum: NY-13

State Comptroller

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is the longest serving elected official in the state. Born and raised on Long Island, DiNapoli won his first elected office in 1972, when, at 18 years old, he secured a seat on the Mineola Board of Education. He worked for telecommunications companies and was elected to the state Assembly in 1986. He served in that body until lawmakers selected him as comptroller in 2007, filling a vacancy left by Alan Hevesi's forced resignation. He is vying for a fifth full term in the office and says he has provided steady leadership of the state’s pension funds.

Drew Warshaw has held several positions in government but is running for office for the first time. He worked as an aide to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, and eventually became chief of staff at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as the agency led the redevelopment of Ground Zero. Warshaw most recently helped lead Enterprise Community Partners, which builds affordable housing. Warshaw has proposed to direct more assets of the state pension fund to build affordable housing in New York.

Raj Goyle is hoping to become the first Asian-American to win statewide office in New York. He was raised in the Midwest and served in the Kansas State Legislature from 2006 to 2010 and moved to New York after an unsuccessful run for Congress there. Now a Manhattan resident, Goyle co-founded a company, Bodhala, that uses AI to help corporations hire legal services. Goyle says he will divest the pension fund from fossil fuel companies.

Read:

- Battle of the bean counters: Challenger emerges for NY comptroller

Jimmy Vielkind contributed reporting.