Tuesday night in Queens, an attorney who calls himself an anti-Zionist Jew beat an incumbent state assemblymember. David Orkin took 58.8 percent of the vote. Jenifer Rajkumar got 40.9 percent.
The margin was not close. Orkin ran on Palestinian freedom.
That was the core of it. He is a democratic socialist. He organizes unions.
He represents immigrant workers. In a district that covers Ridgewood, Glendale, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, and Richmond Hill, he convinced voters that Rajkumar — a Democrat in a safe Democratic seat — needed to go.
Jewish Voice for Peace Action celebrated the win on Instagram. “Pro-Palestine candidates are sweeping in NYC tonight,” the group wrote. “Palestine was on the ballot and won.” That is the language of a movement, not just a local race.
Orkin himself made the same connection. “It’s so incredibly meaningful to me to be running this race as an anti-Zionist Jew,” he said, “to be one of the few anti-Zionist Jewish voices that is in an elected seat in the state government.” He was explicit: criticizing Israel for genocide, demanding an end to the occupation, demanding an end to funding war abroad — none of that, he said, is antisemitic. This was not a fluke.
The same night, other democratic socialist candidates won across New York City. A pattern is forming.
The question is where it leads. Orkin will go to Albany. He will be one voice among 150 in the Assembly.
But the force behind his win is larger than one district. The war in Gaza has reshaped Democratic primary politics in New York.
It has split the party along lines that do not follow the usual ideological script. Pro-Israel incumbents are vulnerable. Anti-Zionist challengers are organized.
The base is shifting. Rajkumar had represented the district since 2021. She had the advantages of incumbency.
She had name recognition. She had establishment support.
None of it mattered enough. Orkin ran a campaign that centered on one issue, and that issue carried him. The district itself is diverse.
Residents describe a mix of communities and interests. It is not a single-issue place.
But in a primary election, turnout is low and intensity matters. Orkin’s supporters showed up. Rajkumar’s did not.
What happens now is uncertain. Orkin will have to govern, not just campaign. He will have to represent constituents who did not vote for him.
He will have to work in a legislature where his views on Israel are a minority position. The Assembly has its own dynamics, its own leadership, its own priorities.
A single anti-Zionist voice can speak loud, but it cannot legislate alone. Still, the win sends a signal. Other challengers will look at this race and see a path.
Incumbents will look at it and see a threat. The Democratic primary electorate in New York City is changing.
The war in Gaza is not going away. The issue is not fading. Orkin said it himself.
He wants to be a champion for Palestinian freedom in Albany. Tuesday night, the voters in District 38 gave him that chance. What he does with it is the next story.
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