{"id":246415,"date":"2026-05-28T14:49:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/246415\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T14:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:49:38","slug":"mamdani-vowed-to-back-espaillat-now-he-may-endorse-a-d-s-a-challenger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/246415\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani Vowed to Back Espaillat. Now He May Endorse a D.S.A. Challenger."},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten years ago, a little-known state lawmaker in Upper Manhattan staged a major upset, winning a congressional seat<\/a> that had for years been central to Black political power and making history as the first Dominican American and undocumented immigrant elected to the House.<\/p>\n

Now that history-maker, Representative Adriano Espaillat, is in a tough re-election fight of his own, resulting from the same type of shifting demographics that once propelled him to victory.<\/p>\n

Mr. Espaillat, who has built the trappings of a small political machine and chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is facing a Democratic primary challenge from Darializa Avila Chevalier, an organizer and democratic socialist nearly 40 years his junior.<\/a><\/p>\n

And as Mr. Espaillat, 71, works to blunt the ascent of Ms. Avila Chevalier, 32, another prominent democratic socialist is seriously considering backing her.<\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is strongly weighing whether to endorse Ms. Avila Chevalier, according to four people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to share private discussions.<\/p>\n

Mr. Mamdani had committed to supporting Mr. Espaillat last year, according to three other people familiar with the pledge. It came after the congressman dropped his support for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u2019s mayoral bid, and got behind Mr. Mamdani after he won the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n

But as the mayor has watched Ms. Avila Chevalier gaining momentum, he has reconsidered his decision.<\/p>\n

An endorsement from Mr. Mamdani could further shake up the race by showering attention on a young upstart and activating a base of voters to head to the polls in what is likely to be a low-turnout election. Primary Day is June 23.<\/p>\n

Morris Katz, a political adviser to Mr. Mamdani, declined to comment on the mayor\u2019s plans in the Upper Manhattan congressional race.<\/p>\n

The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is supporting Ms. Avila Chevalier, is increasingly bullish about her prospects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a hunger for our kind of politics in this community,\u201d said Gustavo Gordillo, the chapter\u2019s co-chair. \u201cWe saw it in the mayoral campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Gordillo recalled the excitement Mr. Mamdani generated in Washington Heights and elsewhere in Upper Manhattan when, nearing the end of his successful primary campaign last year, he walked the length of the borough<\/a> in a highly publicized event.<\/p>\n

Mr. Mamdani trounced Mr. Cuomo<\/a> throughout the 13th Congressional District Mr. Espaillat represents, which runs through Upper Manhattan and the Bronx and has, in some areas, been gentrified considerably over the last decade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mr. Gordillo referred to Mr. Espaillat\u2019s political operation, defined by loyalty he has cultivated from a group of city and state politicians, as \u201ca bit of a paper tiger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Espaillat is, by several accounts from people who are supporting him, concerned about his re-election chances.<\/p>\n

In a possible reflection of the tight race, Mr. Espaillat visited a federal detention center in New Jersey on Wednesday to side with activists who were part of a tense standoff<\/a> with federal agents as they protested the harsh conditions inside the center. A video posted to social media<\/a> shows the congressman entering the center with a court order.<\/p>\n

In an interview Wednesday, Mr. Espaillat played down his opponent\u2019s rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m gaining some momentum and I think that I\u2019m surging,\u201d he said, referencing his lead in an internal poll<\/a> conducted by Ms. Avila Chevalier\u2019s campaign in April. \u201cI\u2019m growing every day. I\u2019m out in the street, I\u2019m knocking on doors, I\u2019m doing the subways, I have a strong ground operation and I think I\u2019m going to win big.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I don\u2019t see her surging at all,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cThe love and support I\u2019m getting in the street, I\u2019ve never seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Espaillat sidestepped questions about Mr. Mamdani\u2019s potential involvement in the race, saying he and the mayor generally centered their discussions on policy matters, including child care, transportation and immigration.<\/p>\n

Shaun Abreu, a city councilman who considers Mr. Espaillat a mentor, described him as \u201can important Latino figure in Washington with meaningful seniority chairing the Hispanic caucus and sitting on the appropriations committee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big advantage for our community to throw away,\u201d Mr. Abreu added. \u201cHe has strong relationships with Hakeem Jeffries, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Governor Hochul, which is why we\u2019ve been able to get historic investments uptown and in the Bronx.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stakes for Mr. Mamdani are high. If he stays out of the matter and Ms. Avila Chevalier pulls off an upset, he will have benched himself instead of lending his star power to a race that presented a chance for democratic socialists to expand their presence in the House. But if he endorses her and Mr. Espaillat wins, he will have alienated a senior member of New York City\u2019s congressional delegation at a time when the city desperately needs federal aid.<\/p>\n

Those familiar with his thinking said Mr. Mamdani appreciated Mr. Espaillat\u2019s swift decision to endorse him after he defeated Mr. Cuomo in the primary, even though Mr. Cuomo stayed in the race as an independent candidate. Mr. Espaillat\u2019s support was a boon to the mayor in his efforts to court Latino voters, a key voting bloc.<\/p>\n

A lack of public polling on the race makes it hard to determine who is in the lead, but several metrics show Ms. Avila Chevalier has momentum.<\/p>\n

Her campaign raised more money than Mr. Espaillat\u2019s in the first quarter of the year, though he has more cash left to spend as of the latest campaign filing.<\/p>\n

One prominent political club in the district, Uptown Community Democrats, endorsed Ms. Avila Chevalier, the first time it has not backed Mr. Espaillat. And the congressman recently expressed concerns to several colleagues about a tightening race after seeing the results of his internal polling, two of the people familiar with the conversations between the congressman and the mayor said, though in the interview Mr. Espaillat would not answer questions about his own polling.<\/p>\n

After a campaign rally on Monday, Ms. Avila Chevalier said her campaign had \u201cwind in our sails,\u201d adding that she felt there was \u201cthe community power to really take this over the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about a possible endorsement from the mayor, Ms. Avila Chevalier demurred, saying she was \u201creally focused on building the support on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s the voters of New York 13 that are going to make the decision around who\u2019s going to represent them in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s democratic socialists have sought to expand their footprint citywide and has seen its fastest growth in the 13th District, feeding leaders\u2019 enthusiasm for a challenger like Ms. Avila Chevalier, who has been a member since last year. Her campaign plans to hold more than a dozen canvasses each week leading up to Primary Day.<\/p>\n

Ms. Avila Chevalier, who helped organize protests at Columbia University against the war in Gaza, has condemned the support Mr. Espaillat receives from AIPAC, the influential pro-Israel lobbying group, and argued that he is too beholden to real estate interests and corporations.<\/p>\n

Justice Democrats, a group that powered the rise of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, has backed Ms. Avila Chevalier\u2019s campaign and helped get it off the ground it in its earliest days. On Wednesday, the group announced that it planned to spend $250,000 on ads for her, bringing its total spending on the race to more than $380,000.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Usamah Andrabi, a spokesman for the group, said that voters would support Ms. Avila Chevalier against \u201cmachine politicians funded by AIPAC & the real estate lobby like Adriano Espaillat and Andrew Cuomo, and are ready to usher in a new era led by courageous, unbought leaders like Darializa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Espaillat, asked about AIPAC\u2019s donations to him, said, \u201cno one that donates to my campaign has control over how I vote. Only my constituents tell me how to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Avila Chevalier\u2019s stances on the matter have also drawn criticism. During a candidate forum in January, she would not condemn Hamas\u2019s fatal attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She also criticized Ms. Ocasio-Cortez in now-deleted posts over her past support for funding Israel\u2019s Iron Dome defense system.<\/p>\n

As she gains momentum, Ms. Avila Chevalier has faced scrutiny over other past comments on social media.<\/p>\n

The New York Post recently drew attention to<\/a> years-old posts in which she criticized interracial marriage and talking about slamming the door on an \u201cold white lady.\u201d In a now-deleted post, Ms. Avila Chevalier was also critical of Vice President Kamala Harris, condemning her comments about migrants to the United States using an expletive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the fact that The New York Post has ignored the issues that we\u2019re talking about today in favor of tweets that I wrote when I was very young just goes to show that they are, like so many of our elected representatives and establishment politicians, just continuing to ignore what people here actually need and deserve,\u201d Ms. Avila Chevalier said in response.<\/p>\n

In a bit of late campaign season intrigue, a pro-Espaillat flyer emerged on Tuesday depicting Ms. Avila Chevalier with an image of someone else. Mr. Espaillat\u2019s team claimed ignorance about who was behind it, saying the campaign had not funded the mailers. Ms. Avila Chevalier responded on social media<\/a> with a shrug emoji.<\/p>\n

Jon Paul Lupo, a Democratic consultant unaffiliated with the race, said he was surprised by how competitive it appeared to have become.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are looking for fighters,\u201d Mr. Lupo said. \u201cThey\u2019re mad at the status quo and it seems to have created at a minimum a very tight race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicholas Fandos contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ten years ago, a little-known state lawmaker in Upper Manhattan staged a major upset, winning a congressional seat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[89547,96260,96261,79052,1445,75,84,83,46937,9,24,63,1446],"class_list":["post-246415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-adriano-d","tag-avila-chevalier","tag-darializa","tag-espaillat","tag-mamdani","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-zohran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}