The losing campaigns of progressive Democratic candidates in the primaries on June 25 signal a slow shift in the political atmosphere in the Bronx heading into the general election this fall.
Currently, there are 21 Republican candidates running campaigns for seats in the Senate, Congress and state Assembly in the Bronx this election season, according to the NYC Board of Elections. While the Bronx remains a Democratic stronghold, voters face an increase in conservative candidates on the ballot and a loss of Progressive candidates heading into November.
Two-term incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman lost his congressional race to Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Jonathan Soto, a Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidate, also lost his race to incumbent Assemblymember Michael Benedetto of the 82nd District. However, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her campaign with an overwhelming majority of the vote.
Republicans have made an effort to win over minority voters in the Bronx in recent months. Former President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in the South Bronx on May 23. Trump picked up twice as many votes in 2020 compared to 2016 in three South Bronx Assembly districts, garnering 16% of the borough’s votes in 2020.
Most recently, about 50 conservative-minded individuals met at Crotona Park East on June 17 for a Bronx County Conservative Party candidate mixer. Gonzalo Duran, the Conservative candidate for the 15th Congressional District and vice chairman of the Bronx County Conservative Party, served as the host. The 15th Congressional District seat — which encompasses the South Bronx and is the poorest Congressional District in the country — is currently held by U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres.
Even though he hosted the mixer, Duran is relatively new to right-of-center politics.
The former Marine announced a bid for the 17th Council District seat on the Democratic line last year against current progressive Bronx Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. before the Bronx Democratic Party won a successful petition challenge to knock him out of the race for binding non-compliance purposes. Duran then made the pivot to the conservative ballot line, where he went on to lose to Salamanca in the general election with less than 4% of the total vote.
“What the Democrats wouldn’t allow me to do, the Conservative Party did, and I’ve been able to take people from either Democrats, Republicans, or registered without parties or weren’t registered at all, to come into a conservative party in a large number, within the last year and a half,” Duran told the Bronx times in a June 19 interview. “I’m proud to say that the Conservative Party is now getting some visibility in the media because of those efforts, not just because of me, but because of the party itself.”
Duran’s goal was clear at the mixer: to inform the community about the improvements he has been working on and to highlight that he is no longer alone in his efforts.
The Bronx was once the most Democratic borough in the Bronx, according to the Associated Press. Though the borough still holds a supermajority of Democratic officials in office, Council Member Kristy Marmorato’s election last fall was a huge upset for the Democratic party. The political newcomer represents Council District 13 and is the first Republican elected to City Council from the Bronx in more than 40 years.
The Democratic Party lost over 20,000 actively enrolled affiliated voters from February of 2023 to 2024, according to New York State Board of Elections data. The data shows that the number of active registered Republican and Conservative voters remained relatively unchanged over the past year with the Republican party gaining just over 500 registered voters and the Conservative party losing nine.
Following Duran’s speech, more than ten other members delivered brief remarks on their platforms, discussing the work they have done within their districts and outlining their future plans.
“I am honored and humbled to have had audience members from all parts of the five boroughs and even as far as Rockland County,” Patrick McManus, chair of the Bronx County Conservative Party, said at the mixer. “This shows that people from every corner of the city and state are fed up with the direction that Democratic leadership has taken us. I look forward to being a part of this movement and helping to change its trajectory.”
The night concluded with a speech from Joe Pinion, the first Black candidate nominated by the Republican and Conservative parties for the 2022 New York State Senate election. Pinion advised candidates running their first campaigns.
Duran said he is “playing the long game” heading into election season this year and will continue to run for public office in the future.
“This is a Democratic stronghold, but I’ve been able to do a lot in a very short time period,” Duran said. “The more the Democratic Party squeezes us individuals, not just Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, but their own Democratic members, more and more people like me are going to jump ship and fight back.”
The headline of this story was updated at 9:13 a.m. on July 3.
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