There’s a lot for democratic socialists to be proud of in Tuesday’s New York Democratic primary election for the state assembly. In Queens, Zohran Mamdani cruised to victory — no one dared challenge him. In northeast Brooklyn, Emily Gallagher beat her opponent 80-20 (numbers are as of Wednesday afternoon — final results are still being tabulated). In southeast Brooklyn, Marcela Mitaynes won 82-18. And in north-central Brooklyn, Phara Souffrant Forrest beat a well-funded challenger with a 34-point margin.

In the Hudson Valley, in the most exciting race of the night, Sarahana Shrestha defeated a twenty-three-year incumbent and conservative Democrat. Shrestha will be the newest member of the growing caucus of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in Albany — and her victory proves that DSA can win outside of New York City in more rural and suburban areas.

Of course, the Left’s critics will almost certainly focus narrowly on what New York DSA — and its allies, including the Working Families Party (WFP) — didn’t win in last night’s elections. In hard-fought insurgent races in the Hudson Valley, lower Manhattan, and in east Brooklyn, three DSA-backed candidates came up short. Vanessa Agudelo, Illapa Sairitupac, and Keron Alleyne ran impressive campaigns against tough opponents. (Alleyne’s campaign was spearheaded by the black community organization Operation POWER, and DSA provided support as an allied organization.) They may not have won, but their work helped build a base for democratic socialist politics in new parts of the state. And the results are still coming in for Samy Nemir Olivares in north Brooklyn.