The Democratic primary for New York’s 15th congressional district will include a full slate of Black candidates challenging three-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres amid a wave of discontent with his pro-Israel stances.
The Catholic-raised lawmaker faces several local politicians in a closely watched race for the predominantly Latino and Black district in the Bronx. These include former state assemblymember Michael Blake, current assemblymember Amanda Septimo, and Bronx Community Board member Dalourny Nemorin. Local activist Jose Vega, affiliated with the LaRouche Youth Movement, has also declared.
Among them, Blake and Septimo have created substantial buzz around their campaigns, with Blake already receiving the endorsement of former mayor Bill de Blasio and Septimo—an Afro-Latino Catholic—claiming she has the support of her fellow assemblymember, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
“In Washington, they talk about progress, things getting better. But somehow, here in the Bronx, we never feel it. It's not adding up,” the 34-year-old Septimo said in her campaign launch video.
“For the past five years, I've been fighting for the Bronx in the State Assembly because we need our people representing our whole community, and we need leaders who aren't afraid to stand up and say when things aren't working.”
I’m running for Congress because the Bronx needs someone who will finally prioritize our people — our families, our workers, our seniors, our small businesses, and our future.
— Amanda Septimo (@AmandaSeptimo) December 11, 2025
For too long, our community has been overlooked while the cost of living rises, housing becomes harder… pic.twitter.com/rJjMsYiUY7
Septimo, a close friend of Mamdani and one of his official allies in the progressive wing of New York City politics, has echoed his calls for affordability, fair wages, and public safety in her early campaign outreach.
Her rhetoric indicates that she sees her campaign as a foil to the more establishment tendencies of Torres, who has recently joined Republicans on a number of policy votes in Washington, including for the Laken Riley Act, which cracks down on undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes, and against cryptocurrency regulation.
Torres has also supported broad funding for Israel amid what international bodies have called an ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. He has also seen rising criticism within his district over the issue, where some residents say his ironclad support for the distant ethnostate does not reflect their local priorities.
While both Blake and Septimo have themselves been cozy with the Israel lobby in the past, it is unlikely that either will emphasize such a relationship in their campaigns for the 15th district—with Blake even moving to disavow it altogether in recent weeks. For her part, Septimo has indicated she will focus her race on issues local to the Bronx.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the nation’s largest pro-Israel political action committee, has endorsed Torres in the race and remains his top PAC funding source dating back to his first House election in 2019. Late September campaign finance reports showed that Torres had raised nearly $4 million for the 2026 race, at least a tenth of which came from AIPAC and the Israel lobby.
A co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Torres is seen as a center-left voice on the Hill and also caucuses with the house’s Black and Hispanic membership. He has handily won each of his reelection bids and defeated Blake in the 2020 Democratic primary.
The official state filing period for the 2026 race will open in late March ahead of the early voting period beginning on Saturday, June 13, and primary day on Tuesday, June 23.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
