Remember Julia Salazar, the 28-year-old Brooklyn based community organizer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who was running for the State Senate seat from the 18th district (Bushwick, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Cypress Hills, City-Line, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville) against incumbent Martin Malave Dilan in the Democratic primary on Thursday?
Remember Julia Salazar, who in conflicting news interviews described herself as a Colombian immigrant, a Miami-born Latina, the daughter of a Colombian immigrant and an Italian immigrant, and—how could she not be—a Jew?
Remember Julia Salazar, who turned from a right-wing pro-Israel Christian activist into an anti-Zionist Jewish activist, affiliated with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), the pro-BDS Jewish Voice for Peace, the anti-Zionist Mondoweiss, IfNotNow, and—how could she not—Linda Sarsour?
So you need to sit down now: Julia Salazar won the Democratic party’s nomination for her district’s NY Senate seat, from Senator Dilan, who’s been at the Senate since 2003, and before that served on the NY City Council since 1992.
Apparently, all the confusion over Salazar’s resume did not matter to the Democratic party voters, who’ve embraced the sweep of the insurgent progressive movement within the Democratic Party. Salazar was attracting national (and international) attention, as the next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated an incumbent Congressman in the Bronx. There was a lawsuit involving Salazar and the ex-wife of Mets former player Keith Hernandez. There was a Daily Caller revelation that Salazar was one of the 12 women accusing Bibi Netanyahu’s spokesman David Keyes of sexual harassment.
Or maybe by the time the 18th district primary voters arrived at the polls, Salazar’s name was by far more familiar to them than the incumbent’s (quick, name your State Senator).
As is common in the city, winning the NY State Democratic primary is the real election – often the Republicans don’t even bother to name a competitor. Rumor is New Yorker’s ate the last Republicans during the Lindsey administration. So, good luck to the new Senator, and there’s hoping the NY Senate doesn’t pass resolutions on Israel any time soon.