Part of national trend of victories by socialists. Candidates clashed over affordable housing, data centers, and role of government. Grassroots campaign propelled Mo to victory by 100 votes, after overcoming party establishment and PAC spending.
SYRACUSE, NY, July 01, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ — Today democratic socialist Maurice Brown has claimed victory as the Democratic nominee for NY State Assembly District 129. In a historic victory following the counting of mail-in ballots, Maurice Brown has defeated incumbent Bill Magnerilli, who has been an Assemblymember for 28 years. Brown won by approximately 100 votes. We see this as part of the national trend of democratic socialist defeating establishment candidates in primary elections.
“The community has spoken, and the message is clear: Housing, healthcare, and education are human rights and the role of government is to protect those rights. Our victory today is a collective one. It is a victory against big money and establishment politics. It is a victory for all people, for our shared environment, and for the hope of democratic socialism,” said Maurice Brown, now the Democratic candidate for the New York State Assembly in the 129th District.
The enormity of this victory cannot be overstated. Magnarelli took office in 1999 in District 120, before being elected into District 129, and has often run unopposed. In the last 3 weeks of the primary, DoorDash spent nearly $155,000 on ads to defeat Mo. Our grassroots movement also overcame the political establishment that backed Magnarelli, including an endorsement by NY Governor Kathy Hochul.
This uphill battle against entrenched political leadership was daunting, but this did not deter Mo.
Maurice Brown had the idea for Syracuse DSA to put forward a group of 3 candidates to run as the ‘Affordability Slate.’ Jo Bennett won their primary for Onondaga County Legislator, District 15, defeating an establishment opponent who previously spent 24 years in the Legislature.
“I’ve never seen a movement like this in Central New York. This is historic, and it’s a clear message about the needs of our communities and what our communities expect from elected officials. They voted to put human needs above billionaires and corporations,” said Jo Bennett, Syracuse city public school teacher, union organizer, & longtime Syracuse DSA leader.
Tammy Honeywell also ran as part of the Affordability Slate and lost her race, but that is not stopping her momentum:
“Our movement is growing and we are just getting started. We launched these campaigns to bring Democratic Socialism to Syracuse, and we’ve done that! Residents see that we bring something new, and want to address the issues that face people every day: Affordability and human rights! We have so much more yet to bring to Syracuse, and I am very excited for the future,” said Tammy Honeywell, organizer & longtime Syracuse DSA leader.
All three candidates received early endorsements from the Syracuse DSA, NY Working Families Party, and Citizen Action of NY. Later endorsements included Maurice Brown being endorsed by democratic socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. This was a full-circle moment, as Mo started his political activism when he was nominated to become a National Delegate for Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
“The voters chose the priorities we ran on, of affordability, protecting people from ICE, and banning data centers.” continued Brown.
Syracuse DSA turns to focus on the General Election this fall, November 23rd. Maurice and Jo will face Republican opponents. Both districts are heavily Democratic.
Thinking about the future Brown said, “I will be so honored to represent our communities in Albany. I am ready to fight together to deliver on these needs and provide for all our people.”
Syracuse DSA is the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the U.S. with over 100,000 members.
Syracuse DSA was established in early 2018 and became a full chapter in early 2019. Syracuse DSA now has hundreds of dues-paying members. Syracuse DSA focuses on mutual aid for our communities, international solidarity with Palestine, opposing ICE, and electing democratic socialists to office.
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