The key political races to watch across Astoria and Long Island City
traditional progressives and candidates backed by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) following Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s success in the mayoral election last year.
The nature of Mamdani’s victory, particularly in Queens and Brooklyn, has given rise to a new wave of DSA challengers who are eyeing numerous seats across the two boroughs.
That is particularly evident in Astoria and LIC, which make up part of the so-called “Commie Corridor” in a reference to a stretch of western Queens and north Brooklyn that broke heavily for Mamdani during the 2025 mayoral election.
Astoria has also become known as the “People’s Republic of Astoria” due to the high success rate of the DSA in the neighborhood.
https://qns.com/2026/03/key-political-races-astoria-long-island-city/