DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST DIANA MORENO WINS SPECIAL ELECTION IN ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 36 TO SUCCEED MAYOR MAMDANI
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2026
Contact: press@socialists.nyc
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST DIANA MORENO WINS SPECIAL ELECTION IN ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 36 TO SUCCEED MAYOR MAMDANI
Campaign called for taxing the rich to provide universal childcare, fighting for strong tenant protections and affordable housing, and defending New Yorkers from ICE
NYC-DSA endorsement put volunteer army of over 13,000 members behind Moreno’s campaign
QUEENS, N.Y. – New York City DSA has secured its first victory of the 2026 election cycle. Democratic socialist Diana Moreno has been elected to the New York State Assembly in District 36 following a campaign focused on taxing the rich, winning affordable housing, and protecting New Yorkers from ICE. Moreno was endorsed by NYC-DSA as well as democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani and will now fill Mamdani’s former seat in the Assembly.
Moreno is a longtime organizer with NYC-DSA and will bring an organizer’s approach to Albany. In office, Moreno will work with the statewide democratic socialist movement and elected officials to tax the rich, enact universal childcare, keep New Yorkers in their homes, and fight back against Trump’s authoritarian regime as well as the oligarchic control of both major parties.
“I’m honored to serve the working people of Queens as the next Assembly Member for District 36. This election is the latest chapter in our long history of fighting for the dignity of workers, tenants, and immigrants, and we’re certainly not done yet,” said Diana Moreno. “To the hundreds of people who have volunteered to bring our proudly socialist message to Albany: thank you, and don’t put away your handwarmers. Winning this election doesn’t mean sitting back and relaxing. It means a new front in our fight for the affordable city we deserve. We’re going up against the most powerful people in the city, the state, and the country to make sure we tax the rich to fund universal childcare, keep our neighbors in their homes, and defend New Yorkers from authoritarianism. I promise to be by your side through it all.”
“I hope Kathy Hochul is paying attention. By electing Diana, New Yorkers are yet again demanding something that the governor desperately wants to ignore: we need to tax the rich,” said NYC-DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo. “In the richest city in the world, it is obscene to cut funding from social programs so that billionaires can add another zero to their bank accounts, yet that’s exactly what Hochul wants. The governor needs to listen to the people and to common sense, not to her oligarch donors.”
“This is not just a win for Diana alone. This is a victory by and for our whole movement. Diana’s proudly democratic socialist campaign mobilized hundreds of New Yorkers, raising over $206,000 and knocking on 12,000 doors in eight weeks, even when it meant braving the cold,” said NYC-DSA co-chair Grace Mausser. “Diana has spent years organizing for the city we deserve as a leader with NYC-DSA. Now, the movement that she’s helped build in New York City has elected her to office. This election isn’t a ‘thank you’ for years of service to our movement. It’s a mandate to keep up the fight in Albany.”
Moreno’s election is the first test of NYC-DSA’s electoral strength in 2026. Since powering Zohran Mamdani’s win in the mayoral primary, NYC-DSA has expanded from just under 10,000 members to over 13,000 members. These members are now aligned behind a slate of democratic socialist candidates for Congress and state legislature, a campaign to tax the rich, and more fights on the front line against Trump’s authoritarianism and austerity.
Six of the NYC-DSA endorsed state candidates qualified for matching funds by the first filing deadline; the seventh endorsed candidate, Samantha Kattan, announced her campaign after the filing deadline.
ABOUT THE NYC-DSA SLATE
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
Claire Valdez
Assemblymember Claire Valdez is a union organizer, artist, and proud democratic socialist. A dual citizen of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation and the United States, she worked low-wage customer service jobs through high school, college and after. As a worker at Columbia University, she joined UAW Local 2110, was elected to the bargaining committee, and organized to democratize her union. A longtime leader in NYC-DSA, Claire serves in the New York State Assembly, where she has fought to tax the rich, protect tenants, and empower working people. Claire is running for Congressional District 7 because workers and tenants need a champion in Congress who will fight for unions, for housing and Medicare for All, and to end U.S. complicity in genocide and apartheid. Website here.
Darializa Avila Chevalier
Darializa Avila Chevalier is a working-class Afro-Latina organizer, UAW member, and the daughter of Dominican immigrants who has spent years fighting for her community in upper Manhattan. Seeing her family navigate immigration issues, economic hardship, and structural racism shaped her commitment to justice. She serves as an investigator at Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, supporting New Yorkers targeted by the legal system. Darializa is running for Congressional District 13 to fight for babies, not bombs, housing for all, and to abolish ICE.
STATE CAMPAIGNS
Aber Kawas
Aber Kawas is a Palestinian community organizer and democratic socialist born and raised in New York City who is running to represent Queens in Assembly District 34. Aber is running to fight for affordability for all New Yorkers, protect immigrant families and stand up to ICE, and fund public transit to make buses fast, safe, and free. Website here.
Christian Celeste Tate
Christian Celeste Tate is a community organizer and democratic socialist running to represent parts of Bushwick and East New York (including Cypress Hills and City Line) in State Assembly District 54. Christian is running to keep people in their homes, defend our neighbors from ICE, and invest in public safety through community investment. Website here.
Conrad Blackburn
Conrad Blackburn is a Harlemite, public defender, union member, and democratic socialist running for New York State Assembly District 70 to put the people of Harlem first. Grounded in Harlem’s long tradition of Black radical politics, he believes socialism is simply community in action. Conrad is running to fight for a dignified life in Harlem, protect Harlem from displacement, and keep Harlem safe. Website here.
David Orkin
David Orkin is a workers’ rights attorney who has been organizing in the immigrant rights movement for over a decade. He’s dedicated his life to fighting for immigrants and workers, and is running in Assembly District 38 in Queens to take that fight to Albany by taxing the rich to fund universal childcare, healthcare, and fast and free buses, doing everything we can on the state level to protect our communities from ICE, and raising labor standards for all workers. Website here.
Diana Moreno
Diana Moreno came to this country when she was 11 years old and has been a labor organizer and immigrant workers’ advocate for over a decade. In this moment of political crisis and awakening, Diana is running for Assembly District 36 to continue the fight for an affordable New York and combat the rising tide of fascism. Having won the special election, Moreno will run for a full term. Website here.
Eon Huntley
Eon Huntley is a working dad, former PTA president, renter, and community organizer running to represent Assembly District 56 (Bedford-Stuyvesant and northern Crown Heights). Eon is running to stop big real estate from tearing his neighborhood apart, ensure an excellent education for every kid in Brooklyn from cradle to college, and fight for the affordability agenda New Yorkers deserve in Albany. Website here.
Samantha Kattan
Samantha Kattan is a tenant organizer, working parent, and democratic socialist running to represent District 37 in the New York State Assembly. In Albany, Samantha will fight to tax the rich to pay for a fairer and more affordable New York; deliver well-funded, universal childcare available to working families; and stand up for tenants by protecting rent stabilization and building social housing. Website here.
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ABOUT NYC-DSA: New York City Democratic Socialists is the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America—the largest socialist organization in the United States with over 95,000 members. NYC-DSA is run by its 13,000+ members and activists who are working together to build a democratic socialist organization in the five boroughs.