(The Center Square) \u2013 A wave of progressive challengers in New York were successful in their attempts to unseat incumbent Democrats serving in Congress in last month\u2019s primary election.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few of those victories garnered headlines outside of the Empire State and has continued to spark ongoing discussion about the future direction of the Democratic Party. Arguably, none of the wins by progressive candidates has commanded more attention than Darializa Avila Chevalier\u2019s victory over five-term incumbent Adriano Espaillat in New York\u2019s 13th congressional district.<\/p>\n
Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old activist and self-described democratic socialist, has the support<\/a> of various progressive lawmakers and organizations, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Justice Democrats, and NYC Democratic Socialists of America.\u00a0<\/p>\n Espaillat, the 71-year-old lawmaker who serves as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus<\/a>, was endorsed by a wide range of Democratic lawmakers<\/a>, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and New York State AFL-CIO.<\/p>\n \u201cThe politics of the past ends today,\u201d Avila Chevalier told supporters, according to the New York Times<\/a>, following her victory. \u201cWhat we have delivered here today is a clear mandate that the era of taking a check and cashing a check and calling it representation is over.\u201d<\/p>\n If elected to Congress, on day one, Avila Chevalier wrote on her campaign website<\/a> that she\u2019d sign on to a variety of legislation, including Tenants Right to Organize Act, Green New Deal, and College for All Act. The Cook Political Report<\/a>, a national ratings outlet, describes the race for New York\u2019s 13th Congressional District as \u201csolid Democratic,\u201d meaning Avila Chevalier is the odds-on-favorite to represent the district next session.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the New York Times<\/a> described her online presence<\/a> as a \u201cflashpoint of the race in its final weeks,\u201d over a series of old social media posts.<\/p>\n In an interview with CNN<\/a> over the weekend, Gov. Josh Shapiro was asked to weigh in on Avila Chevalier previously calling<\/a> for the abolition of prisons, open borders and ending deportations, even for those with violent criminal records. The governor was also asked about her decision to attend a pro-Palestinian rally<\/a> on Oct. 8, 2023, an event that reportedly featured some anti-Semitic rhetoric justifying the attack by Hamas on Israel that occurred the day before.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, look, her district voted for her, but I have profound differences from that particular candidate, based on the citations that you read there, and she’s not someone, who seemingly I would agree with on many things, or that we share similar values,\u201d Shapiro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n His response to CNN\u2019s Dana Bash was about how he felt about someone with those views being in Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cShe ran on the Democratic ticket, I guess, as a socialist,\u201d he continued. \u201cHer voters in that district determined that she was the one they wanted representing her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Shapiro then pointed to the future of the Democratic Party, when Bash asked him what Avila Chevalier\u2019s victory says about the party.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think what our party has to go through, that will be very healthy, and something we’ve not really done since the 1992 election cycle, is to have a battle over what we believe in, to have a battle over the ideas that we are going to hold on to and campaign on, and then deliver on as a way to make people’s lives better,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cAnd I expect our party over the course of this next year or so to go through a battle about what we believe in, and then come out unified in a way that we can take the fight to the other side and really deliver for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n While Shapiro is the latest Pennsylvania Democrat to weigh in on Avila Chevalier\u2019s candidacy, he isn\u2019t the only member of his party in the Keystone State to offer their thoughts.<\/p>\n State Rep. Chris Rabb, who also identifies as a Democratic Socialist, will likely be joining Avila Chevalier in Congress next session after his primary victory in Pennsylvania\u2019s 3rd U.S. House District<\/a>, another seat deemed as \u201csolid Democratic,\u201d by the Cook Political Report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rabb supported Avila Chevalier\u2019s bid<\/a> for Congress and even cut a short video together<\/a> in the lead up to the primary election.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross the country, voters want new leaders. As the daughter of a single mom, Darializa knows working families need help as costs keep rising. She will fight to end Trump\u2019s billion-dollar wars and invest in our communities,\u201d Rabb wrote on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following her win, Rabb also sent out a statement congratulating her.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDarializa knows we need to invest in babies not bombs, immigrants over ICE & renters not real estate developers,\u201d Rabb wrote<\/a> on social media. \u201cTogether in Congress, we’re gonna take on the DC establishment & deliver for working families across the country!\u201d<\/p>\n Rabb will likely represent the district covering nearly half of Philadelphia next session. The other half, Pennsylvania\u2019s 2nd U.S. House District, will likely continue to be represented by Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n Social media posts show that Boyle shares a different view of Avila Chevalier than Rabb.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an interview with the New York Editorial Board<\/a>, Avila Chevalier was asked if there are countries \u201chistorically you can think of that don\u2019t have borders, don\u2019t deport people who aren\u2019t there legally,\u201d and if there was a \u201cmodel for that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWell, first of all, we can think about nation state borders as a larger, longer, more philosophical concept\u2014,\u201d she responded.\u00a0<\/p>\n This exchange, shared in a screenshot on social media<\/a>, grabbed the attention of Boyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is bat sh\u2013t crazy. And all normal Democrats need to call out this absolute nonsense,\u201d Boyle wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has become increasingly at odds with his own party over the past year, has publicly criticized Avila Chevalier<\/a> and other New York progressives who recently won their primary elections.\u00a0<\/p>\n