New York Democratic Rep. Nydia Velázquez says she won’t run for reelection in 2026

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NEW YORK (AP) —

New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez — a trailblazer known by the nickname “La Luchadora” or the fighter — announced Thursday that she will retire next year after more than three decades in Congress.

Velázquez, 72, is the second long-serving New York Democrat to say she’ll step aside after Rep. Jerry Nadler, 78, announced in September that he’d exit at the end of his current term.

Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress, said representing the people of New York City has been the “privilege of a lifetime.”

“This was not an easy decision, but I believe that the time is right for me to move on and for a new generation of leaders to step forward,” Velázquez said in a statement.

Her retirement, just weeks after 34-year-old Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected the city’s next mayor, clears the way for a competitive primary in her deep blue district, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

Velázquez, in Congress since 1993, is a former chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and is currently the ranking member on the House Small Business Committee and a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Velázquez backed Mamdani in the city’s ranked-choice mayoral primary, endorsing him along with two other candidates in a bid to stop former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attempt at a political comeback.

The mayor-elect, in a social media post, praised Velázquez as “a champion and tireless advocate for immigrants, small businesses and working families.”

“Your grace and fight showed us what real leadership looks like. From the bottom of my heart, thank you La Luchadora,” Mamdani wrote.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who served in Congress with Velázquez, said she “has never forgotten where she came from, and she has never stopped fighting for the people she serves.”