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Diana Moreno

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Diana Moreno
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 36th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 4, 2026
Preceded byZohran Mamdani
Personal details
Born (1987-08-26) August 26, 1987 (age 39)
Quito, Ecuador
PartyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
Children1
EducationUniversity of Florida (BA, MA)
Websitedianaforqueens.com

Diana C. Moreno (born August 26, 1987) is an American politician who is a member of the New York State Assembly for the 36th district.[1] She succeeded Zohran Mamdani, who became Mayor of New York City. She was sworn in the day after winning the special election, on February 4, 2026.

Early life and career

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Moreno was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, and her family immigrated to Lakeland, Florida, in 1999 when she was eleven years old.[2][3] Moreno earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 2011 and a Master of Arts in Latino studies in 2016 from the University of Florida.[2] She then worked as assistant director of multicultural and diversity affairs at the school.[4] In 2019, she moved to Queens to work for the New Immigrant Community Empowerment, where she worked until 2023.[5] She then worked as communications manager for the New York State Nurses Association until leaving in October 2025 to focus on her Assembly campaign.[6]

Moreno served as co-chair of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America’s (NYC-DSA) Queens branch from 2021 to 2023 and as the organization's communications coordinator from 2023 to 2024. She has volunteered on the campaigns of numerous democratic socialist candidates in Queens, including: State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assemblymembers Zohran Mamdani and Claire Valdez, and Councilmember Tiffany Cabán.[6]

New York State Assembly

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In October 2025, Moreno announced her campaign for a potential special election to the New York State Assembly in the 36th district if incumbent Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani was elected in the 2025 New York City mayoral election.[6] After his victory, she received the NYC-DSA and Mamdani's endorsement, then was nominated by both the Queens Democratic Party and the New York Working Families Party.[7][8] Mary Jobaida and Rana Abdelhamid also sought the Democratic nomination but lost to Moreno, with Jobaida applying unsuccessfully for endorsement by NYC-DSA. Both candidates ran as independents against Moreno in the special election.[9] The Associated Press declared Moreno the winner on election night.[1]

Electoral history

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2026 New York State Assembly special election, District 36 [10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Diana Moreno 3,389 38.80%
Working Families Diana Moreno 3,083 35.31%
Total Diana Moreno 6,472 74.11%
Queens For All Rana Abdelhamid 1,491 17.07%
People First Mary Jobaida 665 7.61%
Write-in 106 1.21%
Total votes 8,734 100.00%
Democratic hold

Personal life

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Moreno resides in Astoria, Queens, with her partner. They have one son.[5] She is queer.[3]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Elected on both Democratic and WFP ballot lines in New York via electoral fusion.

References

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  1. 1 2 Stallone, Michael (February 3, 2026). "Live NY State special election results for NYC". WNYW. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "TEDxUF 2017". TEDx. April 1, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Tarleton, John (November 18, 2025). "Diana Moreno Enters Race for Zohran Mamdani's Queens Assembly Seat Vowing to Put Children First". The Indypendent. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Diana Moreno: MA in Latin American Studies Alumna, 2016". University of Florida. October 5, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Schwach, Ryan (November 17, 2025). "DSA member officially launches campaign to replace Mamdani in Assembly". Queens Daily Eagle. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Sterne, Peter (October 30, 2025). "Former DSA leader Diana Moreno hopes to replace Zohran Mamdani in the Assembly". City & State. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  7. ↑ Sterne, Peter (January 5, 2026). "Queens Dems nominate DSA-backed Diana Moreno to succeed Mamdani". City and State. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  8. ↑ Kay, Jacob (February 3, 2026). "Diana Moreno cruises to victory in race to replace Mamdani in Assembly". Queens Daily Eagle. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  9. ↑ Scalia, Brian; McKay, Morgan (February 3, 2026). "Special election for Mamdani's old assembly seat today: Who is running?". WNYW. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Special Election 2026 - Member of the Assembly - 36th Assembly District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
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