Antonio Reynoso

2013: City Council, 34th District (won)

Reynoso's first campaign was for the District 34 council seat (Williamsburg and Bushwick in Brooklyn, Ridgewood in Queens) being vacated by his term-limited boss, Diana Reyna, who endorsed him as her successor. The marquee dynamic of the race was Reynoso, then 30, facing a comeback attempt by the disgraced former Assembly Member and Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez 1.

Reynoso defeated Lopez in the Democratic primary, a result widely read as a victory for Brooklyn's reform wing over its old-guard machine, and won the general election. He took office January 1, 2014 2.

2017: City Council re-election (won)

Reynoso was re-elected to a second council term in 2017, winning comfortably in his heavily Democratic district 2. During this term he chaired the Sanitation Committee for a second time and passed his landmark waste legislation.

2021: Brooklyn Borough President (won)

In 2021, with Eric Adams leaving the borough presidency to run for mayor, Reynoso ran to succeed him. The Democratic primary was crowded, with more than a dozen candidates, and was decided by ranked-choice voting. Reynoso emerged as the winner after 11 rounds of tabulation 3.

In the November general election, he won by a landslide, defeating Voices for Change candidate Shanduke McPhatter, Republican Menachem Raitport, and Anthony Jones of the "Rent is 2 Damn High" party, taking more than 72 percent of the vote 3,4. He became the first Latino Brooklyn Borough President and took office January 1, 2022.

2025: Borough President re-election (won)

Reynoso was re-elected to a second term as borough president in the 2025 cycle, reportedly by a slightly wider margin than his first victory 4.

2026: U.S. House, NY-7 Democratic primary (lost)

Reynoso's 2026 congressional campaign is his most competitive race. After Rep. Nydia Velazquez announced in late November 2025 that she would retire after more than three decades representing New York's 7th Congressional District, Reynoso became the first candidate to declare, announcing his run on December 4, 2025 5,6.

The district

NY-7 spans North Brooklyn and Western Queens, including neighborhoods such as Bushwick, Williamsburg, East New York, and Downtown Brooklyn alongside Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, Ridgewood, and Woodhaven. It is one of the most liberal districts in the country and was nicknamed the "Commie Corridor" after Mamdani's roughly 40-point primary win there in the 2025 mayoral race 7.

The field

The Democratic primary developed into a three-way contest:

Antonio Reynoso, the institutional-progressive candidate, was endorsed by Velázquez, Letitia James, the Working Families Party, and major labor unions 8,9.

Claire Valdez, a Queens Assembly Member and former union organizer backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and the United Auto Workers 10.

Julie Won, a Queens Council Member who entered as a late third candidate in February 2026 11.

Fundraising

The first-quarter 2026 fundraising reports showed a close financial contest. Reynoso, despite entering first and leading in endorsements, trailed in total dollars raised, bringing in just over $630,000 since launching. Won raised about $645,000 since announcing in February, and Valdez led the field with more than $750,000 11. However, Reynoso held the most cash on hand of the three at that point 11.

Dynamics

The race has been widely framed as a proxy contest between the institutional Working Families Party left (Reynoso) and the ascendant Democratic Socialists of America left (Valdez), a framing Reynoso disputes by emphasizing his decade-plus of governing experience 12. Mamdani's decision to back Valdez over a fellow progressive, against the wishes of the retiring incumbent Velazquez, made the primary a closely watched test of the new mayor's endorsement power 13.

Claire Valdez won the Democratic primary on June 23, 2026, with the general election to follow on November 3, 2026 14. Given the district's strong Democratic lean, the Democratic nominee is heavily favored in November.

Electoral pattern and analysis

Reynoso's electoral record is one of consistent success in Brooklyn: a reform-wing council victory over an old-guard rival, a comfortable re-election, and a landslide borough-president win that made history. His 2026 congressional bid represents both a logical next step and his stiffest test, because for the first time, he faces a serious, well-funded progressive opponent backed by the city's most prominent political figures, in a district where the DSA-aligned left has demonstrated real strength.

His campaign's central bet is that experience and a broad labor-and-establishment-progressive coalition can overcome the movement energy and mayoral backing behind his rival. That bet did not carry Reynoso through the June 23, 2026 Democratic primary, which Claire Valdez won.

Summary of electoral results

2013 City Council (34th District): won (defeated Vito Lopez in the primary).

2017 City Council: won (re-election).

2021 Brooklyn Borough President: won (primary via ranked-choice over 11 rounds; general with 72%+).

2025 Brooklyn Borough President: won (re-election, wider margin).

2026 U.S. House (NY-7) Democratic primary: lost to Claire Valdez on June 23, 2026.