New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed a Democratic socialist running against Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), who is backed by the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee.Mamdani’s endorsement of 32-year-old Darializa Avila Chevalier could shake up the race, as the progressive hopes to unseat Espaillat, the first Dominican American elected to the House. Avila Chevalier, a political activist who touts her involvement in Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampment, is hoping to ride the progressive wave that installed Mamdani as New York City’s mayor. Given her involvement in the anti-Israel movement, Avila Chevalier has highlighted Espaillat’s endorsement by the AIPAC.
The New York City mayor announced his support for Avila Chevalier during a Thursday night appearance on The Briefing with Jen Psaki, saying that it will “take a new generation of leadership to ensure that the heartbeat of this party is once again the struggles of the working class, and in electing a champion like Darializa to represent Uptown Manhattan and the Bronx, we could have exactly that in Congress.
“We have to be fighting for a vision that reckons with the fact that working people were not left behind just four years ago or 16 years ago. They were left behind a long time before that,” Mamdani, who also describes himself as a Democratic socialist, said.
