Who’s facing a 2020 primary challenge in the state Legislature? 

Velmanette Montgomery

Originally published in City and State NY

The 2020 elections are more than a year away, but a number of Democratic state lawmakers are already facing primary challenges. 

Several longtime lawmakers could pay a political price for past donations from the real estate industry, while others are being targeting for their deep ties to the Democratic Party establishment. In 2018, now-state Sen. Julia Salazar made history by taking out then-state Sen. Martin Dilan, a mainstream Democrat, by challenging him from the left and arguing that he was too close to the real estate industry and the Democratic establishment. The upcoming 2020 Democratic primaries will test whether this can be a winning strategy moving forward, months after democratic socialist Tiffany Cabán just barely lost the Democratic primary for Queens County district attorney to establishment favorite Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.

Support from groups like the Democratic Socialists of America and No IDC NY could be crucial for many primary challengers in the upcoming Democratic primaries. The DSA was a key supporter of Salazar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the last election cycle, while No IDC successfully targeted six of the eight former members of the Independent Democratic Conference – a breakaway group of Democratic state senators who had helped Republicans keep control of the chamber. By targeting relatively moderate members of the Assembly Progressive group, are now looking to replicate the success they had in pushing the state Senate leftward.

No high-profile challenges to incumbent Republican lawmakers have yet materialized, but that could change in the coming months. 

Here’s a list of incumbents who are facing primary challenges and the key dynamics in their races, as of Oct. 10.

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