Mamdani-Backed Candidate Who Suggested US Brought 9/11 On Itself Wins State Senate Seat

(Aber Kawas on X)

Democratic Socialist Aber Kawas won the Democratic primary to represent New York in the state Senate after receiving New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D) endorsement — and after footage emerged of her saying the United States brought the 9/11 terror attacks on itself.

Her victory on Tuesday night clinched a chance for Kawas to represent the Queens senate district. Kawas previously shrugged off the 9/11 attack as something a “couple people did” — but that did not stop 60% of the voters picking her over Assemblyman Steven Raga. 

She was seen in a clip first shared by social media influencer Drew Pavlou last year, saying:

The system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy et cetera – and Islamophobia – have all been used to colonize lands, to take resources from other people and so this is a long trajectory and we’re just seeing the manifestations of that continuation with 9/11.

Kawas was born in Brooklyn to Palestinian parents. The New York Post reported she has described herself as a “Muslim civil right advocate” and leaned into her Palestinian roots; she also made bashing Israel a key aspect of her campaign.

“I’m running for office to challenge the status quo,” she said on her website. “Right now, the federal government is hollowing out funding for our social safety net, ramping up their attacks on immigrants, and continuing to fund Israel’s genocide in Gaza with our tax dollars — all while New Yorkers struggle to make ends meet during a historic affordability crisis.”

The outlet also reported Kawas’ father was deported by ICE for property fraud. Kawas ripped ICE on her website, saying her dad was deported by the “same cruel immigration system that is harming the people of Queens today.”

Mamdani endorsed Kawas last year during a closed-door meeting with the Democratic Socialists of America.

Tuesday night was a big night for socialist candidates backed by Mamdani, with three others winning their Democratic congressional primaries.

Two of the candidates — Darializa Avila Chevalier (D) and Claire Valdez (D) — are card-carrying members of the Democratic Socialists of America, just like the mayor. The third candidate is Brad Lander (D), a former member of the DSA who left the organization after its response to the October 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel.

Still, he earned Mamdani’s support by running more critically of Israel than did incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY). Lander has claimed American support for Israel made the USA “complicit in genocide.” 

Beyond their shared socialist beliefs, the three candidates also agree with Mamdani that ICE needs to be abolished.

The socialist wave was celebrated by Mamdani on Tuesday night, but a number of establishment Democrats were unsettled by it. One centrist House Democrat told Axios that 2027 would be a “headache” for the party with them around, while another House Dem reacted to the sweep by saying “Holy sh*t.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump sardonically congratulated Mamdani on getting “3 solid Communists” elected.

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