By
Nia Prater,
Intelligencer staff writer, who covers New York politics
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic candidate for New York’s 13th Congressional District, at a campaign rally this month.
Since taking office, Mayor Zohran Mamdani hasn’t shied away from exerting his political strength to help allies in both state and federal races. But on Thursday night, Mamdani made probably his most consequential endorsement yet when he officially backed a young, progressive challenger to Representative Adriano Espaillat, the powerful veteran politician who boosted Mamdani’s own mayoral campaign after he secured the Democratic Party nomination.
