Reynoso quietly secures Queens Dems endorsement for NY-7

The Queens County Democratic Party quietly voted two months ago to endorse Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the congressional race to succeed outgoing Rep. Nydia Velázquez, the county party confirmed to City & State. 

Velázquez currently represents the 7th Congressional District, which spans Queens and Brooklyn. In endorsing Reynoso, the party is picking a Brooklyn politician over two opponents who actually represent Queens, Assembly Member Claire Valdez and New York City Council Member Julie Won.

The Reynoso campaign has not yet publicized the Queens Dems’ endorsement, despite the fact that the county organization endorsed him back in early February. 

The Queens Dems endorsement doesn’t fit neatly into Reynoso’s brand as a progressive reformer who’s actively worked against machine politics in Brooklyn. He co-founded the New Kings Democrats in hopes of reforming the Brooklyn Democratic Party. The Queens party typically backs more moderate candidates in open primaries, such as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor in 2025. 

Annabel Lassally, a spokesperson for the Reynoso campaign, objected to that characterization, saying the team was “proud to welcome Queens County” to its coalition. “For over a decade, Antonio Reynoso has fought a corrupt Brooklyn machine that's attacked progressives and prioritized its own interests over reform,” she said in a statement to City & State.

Yet Reynoso actively sought out the Queens Dems endorsement, confirmed Antonio Alfonso, the group’s political director. “He’s trying to build out a really broad coalition and working with all folks in the district and throughout,” Alfonso said of Reynoso, adding they’d “had those conversations prior to our designating meeting.” 

Volunteers aligned with the county party have been gathering signatures for Reynoso over the last month, meaning he’s appearing on petitions with other more centrist, Queens Dems-backed candidates, such as Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar. 

Support with petitioning is helpful to a campaign and could help explain why Reynoso would seek the endorsement, even when the county party’s seal of approval has limited sway in parts of western Queens in the 7th Congressional District. Though it could prove a boon with more moderate voters clustered in neighborhoods like Glendale and Woodhaven who are opposed to the democratic socialist Valdez.

The Brooklyn borough president’s other key endorsements include the New York Working Families Party, 32BJ SEIU, District Council 37, Attorney General Letitia James and Velázquez herself. All of those and more appear prominently on his campaign website and literature, while Reynoso has not publicized the Queens Dems’ endorsement of him at all – even as it has been settled since early February.

Asked about the party’s choice to back Reynoso over her, Won seemed to suggest that seeking the county party’s endorsement was a tactical error on Reynoso’s part. “I never sought the (Queens Dems) endorsement because I am a community candidate that has always run independently. We’ve seen and experienced the political machine before,” she told City & State. In a subsequent text message, Won added, “Our engaged voters have a disdain for politics as usual such as stacking petitions on behalf of a political machine.” 

Valdez, too, seemed unfazed by the party’s decision. “I was elected to the Assembly against the endorsement of the Queens County Democratic Party and I’ll do the same for Congress,” she said in a statement to City & State.

Despite the fact that backing Reynoso means opposing the two Queens candidates in the race, the move is not entirely surprising for Queens Dems. Valdez is a newcomer to political office endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America and Justice Democrats. Won, a progressive, has never been close to the county party and was a surprising late addition to the race. Reynoso, meanwhile, used to represent part of Ridgewood, Queens, in the City Council before getting elected BP.  

But significantly, the Reynoso endorsement represents party boss Rep. Greg Meeks and county going against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has backed Valdez in the race. It’s a shift for the county organization, which chose not to pick a fight with the borough’s left flank in the recent Assembly District 36 special election, when the party endorsed DSA member Diana Moreno.