Mamdani backs DSA candidate challenging longtime Rep. Espaillat
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Democratic Socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier in her primary challenge against five-term Congressman Adriano Espaillat in Manhattan's 13th District.
Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday his backing of Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is mounting a primary challenge against five-term Congressman Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th District, according to New York Post.
The mayor praised the 32-year-old challenger as someone who has committed herself to fighting for Americans often neglected by government institutions. Mamdani pointed to her work assisting individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and described her platform as centered on affordability, dignity, and community strength.
Chevalier, who is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, previously worked on Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. The endorsement was first made public during an appearance on MS NOW, where both candidates appeared together.
The challenge to Espaillat represents the latest effort by the progressive wing to expand its congressional footprint. Chevalier’s platform includes a series of radical policy positions outlined in her DSA candidate questionnaire, among them the abolition of prisons, legalization of prostitution and all drugs for private use, and the dissolution of ICE.
She has also called for ending military assistance to Israel, aligning herself with other anti-Israel voices in the progressive movement.
Espaillat, age 71, who has represented the district since 2017, dismissed the mayor’s endorsement while highlighting his own support from New York’s political establishment, New York Post reports. Governor Kathy Hochul, state Attorney General Letitia James, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries all back the incumbent.
One endorsement does not make a race. Voters do, Espaillat stated in response to the news.
Chevalier has also drawn scrutiny for past social media activity. In a since-deleted 2019 post, she wrote about wiping her hand on an American flag instead of using napkins, adding a smiling emoji. Additional posts from the same period show her criticizing men of color for dating white women and recounting an incident where she deliberately shut a door on an elderly white woman.
Mayor Mamdani has issued several congressional endorsements ahead of the June Democratic primary, including former city Comptroller Brad Lander over House Representative Dan Goldman and state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
New York’s 13th Congressional District includes Harlem, Washington Heights, and sections of the Bronx. The Democratic primary will determine the likely winner in the heavily Democratic district.
With information from New York Post
