The artist, former cultural worker, and union organizer won a seat in the US House of Representatives by nearly 70 percentage points.
Among the historic wave of triumphs for Democrats in yesterday’s midterms, New York State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, an artist, former cultural worker, and union organizer, was elected to represent New York’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.
After a resounding win in the June primary, the 37-year-old Democratic Socialist will represent the so-called “Commie Corridor,” a district encompassing north Brooklyn and western Queens that also overwhelmingly voted for Valdez’s endorser, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, last November. She defeated her opponent, Republican Melvin Rivera, by 68 percentage points, and will succeed retiring Democratic Representative Nydia Velázquez, who has held the seat since 2013.
Central to Valdez’s campaign were measures aimed at protecting unions and workers’ rights, and addressing the affordability crisis.
“As somebody who once aspired to be an artist and came to New York to pursue that dream, the purpose of our movement is to make sure that anyone can be an artist, that everyone has the time off, and the living wages, and the healthcare, and the space to pursue passions, to spend time with family, to live a good life,” Valdez told Hyperallergic Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara in an interview in June this year.