David Morales gives his acceptance speech at Riff Raff Book store, where he held his primary election watch party. Photo: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Rhode Island state Rep. David Morales, a democratic socialist, defeated incumbent Providence Mayor Brett Smiley in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, ending Smiley’s bid for a second term and marking another victory for the anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in a major American city.

Morales, 27, is a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America and received the radical group’s endorsement during his campaign. His victory places a prominent DSA-backed politician in position to become Providence’s next mayor in November.

Smiley, who is Jewish, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel during his tenure as mayor. Morales has taken a sharply different position, criticizing Israel’s conduct in Gaza and expressing support for the Palestinian cause. Although the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not as heavily featured in this race as several other contests featuring DSA-backed insurgents, Morales has signaled support for an upcoming November resolution to divest from Israel.

“David has been in the streets with the Palestinian rights movement for years … He has consistently called for an end to US support for apartheid and genocide,” the far-left, anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace said in a statement.

“David proudly endorsed an upcoming city ballot initiative to cut an estimated $2.5 million in investments in Israel and other countries committing genocide. This will be the first legally binding divestment vote in US history,” the group continued.

Smiley’s defeat is particularly notable because Providence had never previously seen a sitting mayor lose a Democratic primary while seeking reelection, according to reporting on the race.

Providence voters will cast ballots regarding the divestment proposal while they also vote for the next mayor. Morales’s win is expected to help the anti-Israel measure’s odds.

Morales was first elected to the Rhode Island House at 22 and ran as a progressive challenger to Smiley. He was also endorsed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the most anti-Israel figures in the US Senate. His campaign focused heavily on rent control and expanding affordable housing.

Housing was particularly important to the primary. Smiley vetoed a city council ordinance in April that would have capped annual rent increases at 4 percent. Morales made rent stabilization a central component of his campaign, arguing that Providence residents needed immediate protection from rising housing costs.

The defeat makes Smiley the latest Democratic incumbent to fall to a progressive challenger during a 2026 primary season that has produced a series of victories for candidates aligned with the party’s activist left. Democratic socialist candidates have defeated incumbents in several high-profile primaries this year, although those victories have generally occurred in heavily Democratic jurisdictions.

In deep-blue enclaves, left-wing challengers have succeeded on anti-Israel platforms.

In New York City, anti-Israel insurgents state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Comptroller Brad Lander all defeated incumbents which were perceived as being more supportive of the Jewish state. In each of these races, whether the US should continue to send aid to Israel, and whether the Israel-Hamas war should be considered “genocide,” became major points of contention.

However, other contests have produced the opposite outcome. In Missouri, Wesley Bell defeated progressive incumbent Cori Bush in a Democratic primary, with Israel policy emerging as one of the major dividing lines in the race. Bell was supported by pro-Israel political groups such as AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee). Bush tried, but failed, to defeat Bell by tying his campaign to the pro-Israel lobbying group.

According to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from July, 56 percent of Democrats say they sympathize more with Palestinians while just 14 percent say they sympathize more with Israelis. Among Republicans, by contrast, 71 percent say they are more sympathetic to Israel, compared with just 7 percent who identify more closely with the Palestinians.

Morales will face Republican nominee David Talan in November. If elected, Morales would become Providence’s youngest mayor.