NY-07: Nydia Velzquez leaves huge shoes. Who wants to fill them?
As Rep. Nydia Velázquez, the Puerto Rican progressive pioneer nicknamed “La Luchadora” for her willingness to fight for her community, exits her historic 16-term seat, her Thursday retirement announcement leaves a competitive primary in its wake.
Velázquez’s congressional district, which covers parts of northern Brooklyn and western Queens, is a leftist hotbed, having overwhelmingly voted for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the primary. This upcoming congressional primary will likely see a wave of progressives – including members of the Democratic Socialists of America – seeking to capitalize off of Mamdani’s momentum. The central question, according to Democratic strategist Trip Yang, will be if Velázquez’s successor is “socialist or a non-socialist progressive.”
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you La Luchadora,” Mamdani wrote in an X post Thursday, highlighting the historic legacy of Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican to serve in Congress.
Along with the upcoming departure of 78-year-old Rep. Jerry Nadler, which has now resulted in at least 10 democrats competing for his Manhattan congressional seat, the race to represent the 7th Congressional district signifies a generational shift in the Democratic party.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/11/nydia-velazquez-leaves-huge-shoes-who-wants-fill-them/409718/?oref=csny-homepage-river