General Election
Open NY-7 House seat with differing immigration approaches
Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez announced on Nov. 20, 2025, that she would not seek reelection, creating an open seat. Unofficial election-night figures showed Valdez winning the Democratic primary; she appears on the Democratic and Working Families lines, Rivera on Republican and Conservative, and Ghaznavi on Our Future.
New York State Assemblymember, 37th District (elected 2024)
Labor — Supports strengthening the PRO Act and collective bargaining, federal support for organizing, a federal jobs guarantee, a $17 federal minimum wage by 2030, paid leave and a 32-hour workweek without reduced pay. She also proposes stronger protections against workplace surveillance and union busting.
New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) +3
Designer by trade
Housing — Supports expanding affordable housing and homeownership for working families while making property taxes reflect income rather than only rising market values. Describes housing as a foundation of stability and ownership as a route to generational wealth and rooted communities.
No major endorsements yet
Community activist and tenant organizer
Housing — Proposes a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act giving renters notice and a first chance to bid when landlords sell, with financing, legal and technical assistance. Also supports an anti-flip tax, expanded homeowner protections and revised income caps for senior and disability exemptions.
No major endorsements yet
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Housing and Tenant Stability
Most federal housing assistance, including rental assistance, depends on annual congressional appropriations, so federal funding levels and housing legislation shape the resources available to tenants and public housing.
Supports national rent control, permanently affordable public and community-owned housing, tenant organizing and good-cause eviction protections. Proposes conditioning federal housing funds on affordability, transit access and labor standards, and expanding vouchers, public-housing repairs and tenant enforcement.
Claire Valdez campaign housing platform (accessed 2026-09-20; page date not stated)Immigration Policy
Congress creates the federal statutes governing immigration, including the Immigration and Nationality Act, so changes to statutory pathways and enforcement rules require federal action.
Supports abolishing and dismantling ICE, ending for-profit detention and deportation, and investigating abuses by federal agents and contractors. Proposes pathways to lawful permanent residence, more refugee admissions and work authorization for asylum seekers while cases are pending.
Claire Valdez campaign immigration platform (accessed 2026-09-20; page date not stated)Workers and Unions
The National Labor Relations Act protects covered employees' rights to organize, bargain collectively, and act together, and bars employers from interfering; Congress can amend the federal framework.
Supports strengthening the PRO Act and collective bargaining, federal support for organizing, a federal jobs guarantee, a $17 federal minimum wage by 2030, paid leave and a 32-hour workweek without reduced pay. She also proposes stronger protections against workplace surveillance and union busting.
Claire Valdez campaign labor platform (accessed 2026-09-20; page date not stated)Cycle-to-date · FEC — figures change as new reports are filed.
Researched & verified Sep 20, 2026. Compiled from verified public sources; claims that failed verification are excluded.
