Darializa Avila Chevalier

Darializa Avila Chevalier
Avila Chevalier in 2026
Personal details
Born1993 or 1994 (age 32–33)
Florida, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
Democratic Socialists of America[a]
EducationColumbia University (BA)
City University of New York (MPhil)
City University of New York
Websitedarializaforcongress.com

Darializa Avila Chevalier (born 1993 or 1994),[1] also known as DAC,[2][3] is an American political candidate and community organizer. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, she is the Democratic nominee for New York's 13th congressional district in 2026, having defeated incumbent Adriano Espaillat in the primary.

Born and raised in Florida, Avila Chevalier moved to New York City in 2012 to study at Columbia College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern studies. She is a doctoral student in sociology at the City University of New York, studying the way black immigrants from Latin America are impacted by the U.S. criminal system and deportation.

Early life and education

Avila Chevalier was born and raised in Florida to working-class Dominican immigrant parents.[4][5] Her father is a truck driver and her mother a caseworker.[6] She also lived in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela[7] and speaks fluent Spanish.[8] Her maternal grandfather was a member of the resistance movement against Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and his successor Joaquín Balaguer, leading the family to emigrate to the US.[9][10]

Avila Chevalier spent her childhood in Miami, and many of her teenage years in Tallahassee, where she attended Hartsfield Elementary School and Fairview Middle School, graduating from James S. Rickards High School in 2012.[11][12][13][14]

Avila Chevalier moved to New York City to study at Columbia College, Columbia University,[4][15] where she was an illustrator for the Columbia Daily Spectator.[16] She graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Middle Eastern studies.[11]

As a student at Columbia College, Avila Chevalier organized with Students for Justice in Palestine and Mobilized African Diaspora.[11] In 2014 Avila Chevalier lived in the Palestinian city of Nablus for around two months while interning for Tomorrow's Youth Organization to teach English to Palestinian toddlers and children. The 2014 Gaza War started shortly after she returned to the US.[8] She credited this period with shaping her view that the oppression of Palestinians is directly linked to the American system, saying, "these are not only like systems, they are the same system. It was the same tear gas made in the USA that was being dropped on Gaza that was also being used against [Black Lives Matter] protesters in Ferguson."[8] She co-founded student organization Columbia University Apartheid Divest,[17] helping establish it in 2016.[18]

Avila Chevalier began a PhD program in sociology at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York,[19] becoming a doctoral candidate by 2025.[19] Her research has focused on immigration law and policy and incarceration in the United States, especially on the ways Black immigrants from Latin America have been affected by the US criminal justice system and deportation.[20]

Early career and activism

Black Youth Project 100

After graduating from Columbia, Avila Chevalier organized with Black Youth Project 100.[21] In 2018, the group demanded removal of a Central Park statue of J. Marion Sims, a 19th-century gynecologist who forcibly subjected enslaved Black women to experiments involving painful surgical techniques without anesthesia, despite later administering anesthesia to his white patients.[22] Avila Chevalier and three other Black women protested in front of the statue dressed in blood-stained hospital gowns, reading passages from Sims's autobiography, medical journals, and other historical material that highlighted his dehumanization of enslaved women.[23] The statue was moved later that year.[24]

Families for Freedom

In 2019, as an organizer for Families for Freedom, Avila Chevalier protested to free Abdikadir Mohamed Felt, a Somali immigrant affected by President Donald Trump's "Muslim ban", from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.[25] She later published an analysis of the convergence of US counterterrorism policy and immigration enforcement as exemplified by the emergence of United States Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) units known as Tactical Terrorism Response Teams, with Abdikadir Mohamed's encounter with such a unit serving as a case study.[26]

Avila Chevalier participated in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment (April 17–30, 2024), part of the Columbia University protests against the Gaza war and genocide.

As an alumna, Avila Chevalier participated in the April 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment,[27] part of the protests at Columbia University demanding that the university officially call for a ceasefire and disinvest from Israel during the war and genocide in Gaza,[28][29][30][15][31] for which she was targeted by Canary Mission, a pro-Israel doxing website.[21] On October 8, 2023, she attended a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation that was condemned by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and New York City Councilman Brad Lander, who is now Avila Chevalier's fellow Democratic congressional nominee and campaign partner.[32][33][34] The rally was condemned by local politicians Brad Lander and Kathy Hochul for allegedly justifying the October 7 attacks.[1]

In November 2023, when Columbia suspended its chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, Avila Chevalier said the university should "protect speech and protect the right of faculty and students to address these issues in an open and frank way".[35] On April 30, 2024, riot police forcibly removed protesters including Avila Chevalier from the entrance to Hamilton Hall. Avila Chevalier said that officers pushed her and other protesters to the floor, leaving them with bruises.[36]

Career

Avila Chevalier has taught at CUNY Lehman College and New York University.[8]

She works as an investigator at the public defender legal organization Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem,[22] where she is a member of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys – United Auto Workers Local 2325.[37][38] Her work has investigated police brutality in the United States.[7]

Political career

Avila Chevalier is a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA),[21][10] which she joined in 2025.[8] She has described her political views as having been informed by the Black radical tradition, specifically the writings of Angela Davis and Assata Shakur,[21] as well as her experience in Palestine in 2014.[8] In the 2025 New York City mayoral election, Avila Chevalier was an organizing lead on DSA member Zohran Mamdani's campaign.[4][21][37][38] She ranked Brad Lander fifth on her ballot in protest of his comments about Mahmoud Khalil.[39]

On April 13, 2026, Avila Chevalier joined a Jewish Voice for Peace protest asking Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer to vote against selling weapons to Israel. Police arrested protesters, including Avila Chevalier, whose shirt read "fund people not bombs".[15][40][18] In March 2026, she participated in a Columbia University rally calling for the release of Khalil and Leqaa Kordia.[41][42]

2026 congressional campaign

2026 Democratic primary results by precinct
  Avila Chevalier
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  Espaillat
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  •   90–100%

Avila Chevalier ran in the Democratic primary for New York's 13th congressional district, challenging incumbent Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who has represented the district since 2017.[31][43][44][45] NY-13 encompasses Harlem and the southwest section of the Bronx and is one of the most Democratic districts in the country.[31] At 32, she would be one of the youngest members of Congress.[46] Avila Chevalier was the only challenger to outraise an incumbent in New York City during the first quarter of 2026.[47] An April 2026 internal campaign poll showed her trailing Espaillat by 18 percentage points after voters were read biographical statements about both candidates.[48]

Avila Chevalier was recruited to run by Justice Democrats,[37][47][49][10] who had previously helped Ocasio-Cortez win her 2018 election against an incumbent.[50] Avila Chevalier has been endorsed by New York mayor Zohran Mamdani,[50][51][52][53][54][55] United Auto Workers Region 9A,[56] the New York City Democratic Socialists of America,[9][57] and Jewish Voice for Peace Action.[4] She also has the support of former US representative Jamaal Bowman[4] and political commentator Hasan Piker.[58]

Outside groups spent heavily in the race. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus's political arm spent to support Espaillat,[59][60] and AIPAC spent at least $650,000 opposing Avila Chevalier;[61] AIPAC-associated donors also spent to support Espaillat.[62][63]

Espaillat retained support from several progressive Democrats, including Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar.[64] The Congressional Black Caucus also backed him in the primary.[65] The race highlighted tensions between the Democratic Party's "establishment" wing and its democratic socialists.[66] Espaillat called Avila Chevalier's democratic socialism a "failed ideology".[67]

During the campaign, Avila Chevalier was the target of racism, much of which was animated by anti-Haitian sentiment.[1][68][69] Some Espaillat supporters falsely claimed she was Haitian, questioned her fidelity to the Dominican community in New York City, and called her "Haitian" as a slur.[68][1][70] City & State reported that a senior adviser to Espaillat, Rusking Pimentel, made racist and Islamophobic comments about Avila Chevalier in Spanish language media.[69] Espaillat characterized some Avila Chevalier voters as "the gentrifiers" raising rents. Avila Chevalier supports federal funding to build more social housing.[71]

News media and Espaillat scrutinized tweets Avila Chevalier made from a Twitter account she used from 2018 to 2022, when she was in her 20s.[72] She said she deleted the account to focus on her studies and on organizing.[73] In her tweets, Avila Chevalier criticized mainstream Democrats, calling Joe Biden "a rapist" in 2020, though she later said she voted for him in that year's presidential election.[74][75][76][77] She tweeted "fuck Kamala Harris" in 2021 after Harris gave a speech discouraging migration to the US,[76] but apologized publicly to Harris during a debate.[72] She later said her posts came from a sense of political disempowerment felt by many Americans.[77][78] In other tweets, she advocated prison abolition, police abolition, and border abolition. She rejected the view that Israel has a "right to exist" as a Jewish state.[74][75][76][77] Other tweets related to communism, COVID-19, and interracial relationships.[b] In reference to its focus on Avila Chevalier's tweets, Mehdi Hasan criticized The New York Times for profiling her with more scrutiny than it has given right-wing figures.[82][83] She responded to coverage of her posts by saying, "I was young, yes, and I was a millennial with internet access", and added that the attention was "litigating the politics of the past instead of the politics of the future and the present".[74] Avila Chevalier said she regrets her past Twitter activity due to the division it caused.[73][78] Mamdani reiterated his endorsement of her campaign after the report, citing her ongoing advocacy for immigrants and working-class New Yorkers.[75]

Avila Chevalier defeated Espaillat in the Democratic primary in an upset.[84] According to incomplete returns, she won 49.4% of the vote to his 45.9%; she won younger voters by 24%, college-educated voters by 20%, higher-income voters by 6%, and black voters by 2%. Espaillat won lower-income voters by 10% and Hispanic voters by 16%.[85] If elected in November, Avila Chevalier will be the first socialist to represent the district since Vito Marcantonio in the 1950s.[86]

Political positions

Avila Chevalier is a political progressive[87] and democratic socialist,[81][88][89][90][91] and The New York Times has characterized her views as far-left.[92] In an interview with MS NOW, she said she is not a communist.[93] Avila Chevalier opposes all forms of deportation as well as US support for Israel during the war and genocide in Gaza.[93][21][94] Her platform has included universal healthcare, stronger tenant protections, funding programs for children instead of funding war, abolishing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), banning large super PACs from elections, and prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks.[95][96]

Foreign policy

Israel and Palestine

Avila Chevalier has been "unequivocal in condemning Israel as an apartheid state committing genocide".[33] In March 2026, during a forum with the Broadway Democrats political club, Avila Chevalier, when asked whether she condemned Hamas for the October 7 attacks, responded: "The premise of that question, to me, ignores the 75 years of occupation that the Palestinian people have been subjected to and the conditions that folks were living under before this genocide began."[33] When asked about condemning Hamas again in June, she said she did but added, "As far as I know, the US does not send a single dime to Hamas. What we fund is the Israeli military."[33]

Avila Chevalier has been active in protests against US support for Israel and strongly criticized Espaillat's support of Israel and acceptance of campaign funds from AIPAC during the primary.[28][97][98] In an interview with Jewish Currents, she said Espaillat "has used his time in Congress to give ICE billions, fund the Israeli military, and vote for Trump's crypto corruption—while being bankrolled by AIPAC and the real estate lobby".[99]

Avila Chevalier supports the Block the Bombs Act, which would limit the sale, transfer, or exporting of defense articles and services to Israel.[18] In June, American Priorities, a super PAC established to oppose AIPAC, pledged funding to support Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, and Brad Lander.[100]

Ukraine

In 2022, Avila Chevalier tweeted that the reason the United States was involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine was that "the Cold War ended and we've been bullying Russia ever since".[76][101] In a 2026 interview, she said she believed Ukraine was a victim of Russia's violation of its sovereignty, and that diplomacy with Russia should be pursued.[102]

Housing

Avila Chevalier supports universal housing, stronger tenant protections, and federal funding to build more social housing.[71][95] She has criticized gentrification and displacement in the district, saying that over 200,000 Black New Yorkers have left the city in the last 20 years.[95]

Healthcare and social spending

Avila Chevalier supports universal healthcare through Medicare For All.[95][96] "Babies Not Bombs" was a signature pledge of her campaign.[96][95] She has called for federal resources to be directed toward schools, housing, and social safety-net programs.[95][96]

Campaign finance and corporate power

Avila Chevalier supports banning large super PACs from elections and prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks.[95]

Billionaires

In an interview with Ryan Grim on the podcast Breaking Points, she agreed with Fran Lebowitz's suggestion that billionaires threatening to leave New York City should do so.[103]

Immigration

Avila Chevalier supports abolishing ICE,[104][105] expanding pathways to citizenship for immigrants in the US,[52] and opposes all forms of deportation, saying in a June 2026 interview, "I have yet to come up with a reason for why deportation has been used in a way that isn't rooted in deeply racist ideology." When Astead Herndon asked her about the deportation of people convicted of breaking US criminal law, she responded that she opposed it, saying:

We have a criminal system. It isn't perfect, but it exists, and if it is one that we accept as the process by which we want to engage with these issues—issues of harm, issues of criminality, or what have you—then we need to make sure that it isn't one that is also discriminatory on the basis of where people were born.[106]

When asked about open borders, Avila Chevalier called free movement an "ideal vision", saying, "capital can move freely across the world, but people are trapped."[102] In 2025, Avila Chevalier wrote an op-ed in USA Today calling for the freedom of Mahmoud Khalil after he was taken from his home and detained by ICE, writing:

Immigration courts and detention centers have, for decades, been an abuse of administrative power. By targeting Mahmoud, Trump is now taking this abuse of power to a whole new level and making an example of him to silence those speaking out for the lives and human rights of Palestinians.[19]

Policing and public safety

Avila Chevalier supports abolishing prisons.[102]

Personal life

Avila Chevalier is Afro-Latina.[4][29] In 2018, she converted to Islam.[10][8] Since 2023, she has been in a romantic relationship with Ramzi Kassem, who in 2026 became the chief legal counsel in Zohran Mamdani's mayoral administration.[107]

Electoral history

2026 U.S. House of Representatives

2026 New York's 13th congressional district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Darializa Avila Chevalier 32,790 48.60
Democratic Adriano Espaillat (incumbent) 30,464 45.15
Democratic Oscar J. Romero Jr 2,340 3.47
Democratic Theo Bruce Chino-Tavarez 532 0.79
Total votes 67,473 100.0

Notes

  1. ↑ The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is not a registered political party but a political organization for those with democratic socialist ideologies.
  2. ↑ One of her posts in 2019 supported the seizure of the means of production. Her repost called for nationalization of pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and landlords' property.[75] Avila Chevalier's tweets from 2020 to 2022 contained various references to communism and Marxism. One of her retweets recommended that people read Karl Marx's Das Kapital.[79] In a May 2020 tweet, she called COVID-19 a "European plague" and boosted a post suggesting the virus originated in France rather than Wuhan, China. She also criticized "Black" and "Arab men" for "fetishizing ugly colonizer women".[72][80] In another tweet she responded to a prompt of "interracial relationship discourse, go" with a celebratory image, followed by "No yts tho" and an emoji. The New York Times and The Washington Post suggested this disparaged interracial relationships involving White people.[81][76]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fahy, Claire (June 24, 2026). "Who Is Darializa Avila Chevalier?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  2. ↑ Beeferman, Jason; Fernandez, Madison; Sommerfeldt, Chris (June 25, 2026). "The Dems already had AOC. Now they have DAC". Politico.
  3. ↑ Davis, Maya (July 9, 2026). "Meet the Socialists on Their Way to Capitol Hill". The Wall Street Journal.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Long, Ariama C. (December 11, 2025). "Another political upstart? Darializa Avila Chevalier challenges U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat". Amsterdam News. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  5. ↑ Oreskes, Michael (July 8, 2026). "Behind Avila Chevalier's Stunning Victory over Espaillat in C.D. 13". The Spirit. Retrieved July 18, 2026.
  6. ↑ Hurwitz, Sophie (June 30, 2026). "Gaza is costing Democratic incumbents their seats". Mother Jones. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Mamdani respalda a candidata socialista al Congreso, rival del veterano representante Adriano Espaillat" [Mamdani backs Socialist congressional candidate, rival to veteran representative Adriano Espaillat] (in Spanish). Diario Las Américas. May 29, 2026. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pretsky, Holly (June 15, 2026). "Like AOC, but to the left". City & State NY. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  9. 1 2 Aponte, Claudia Irizarry (January 27, 2026). "DSA's Endorsement of Darializa Avila Chevalier Poses Test of Its Clout". The City. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Edwards, Jessy (May 29, 2026). "Darializa Avila Chevalier Thinks She Can Overthrow the 'Dean of Dominican Elected Officials'". Hell Gate. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 "Darializa Avila-Chevalier (interview)". Wade in the Water. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  12. ↑ McCoy Vann, Kim (November 23, 2004). "Lights! Camera! Talk books!". Tallahassee Democrat. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Gold Stars; Students win Science Olympiad". Tallahassee Democrat. October 25, 2005. p. 2B. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Rickards Graduates". Tallahassee Democrat. May 16, 2012. p. 39. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 3 Lee, Katharine (April 26, 2026). "Race for Rep. Adriano Espaillat's congressional seat draws legal objections from multiple campaigns". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ Darializa's story. Latino USA. May 15, 2024. Event occurs at 0:10.
  17. ↑ Fund, John (June 24, 2026). "The rise and rise of America's radical left". The Spectator.
  18. 1 2 3 Strauss, Joseph (May 29, 2026). "Mamdani endorses former Columbia encampment organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier". New York Jewish Week. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 Avila Chevalier, Darializa (March 13, 2025). "I worked alongside Mahmoud Khalil. His detention is a terrifying abuse of power". USA Today. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Darializa Avila Chevalier". Social Anatomy of a Deportation Regime. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Day, Meagan (January 21, 2026). "In Harlem, a Democratic Socialist Takes On the Dem Machine". Jacobin. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  22. 1 2 Wimbish, Whitney Curry (November 20, 2025). "Justice Dems Pick Longtime Organizer to Take Harlem". The American Prospect. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  23. ↑ Escalante, Alejandro S. (December 4, 2018). "Gynecology and the Ungendering of Black Women". African American Intellectual Historical Society. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  24. ↑ Domonoske, Camila (April 17, 2018). "'Father Of Gynecology,' Who Experimented On Slaves, No Longer On Pedestal In NYC". NPR. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
  25. ↑ Hussain, Murtaza (May 13, 2019). "His Visa Was Stamped, His Papers in Order. Then He Was Targeted By a Secretive CBP Task Force". The Intercept.
  26. ↑ Avila Chevalier, Darializa (July 3, 2023). "The securitisation of immigration through the Tactical Terrorism Response Team". Critical Studies on Terrorism. 16 (3): 537–559. doi:10.1080/17539153.2023.2229618. ISSN 1753-9153.
  27. ↑ Lee, Katharine. "Darializa Avila Chevalier, CC '16, Eli Northrup, Jordan Wright win primaries in West Harlem". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  28. 1 2 Sterne, Peter (January 22, 2026). "DSA votes to endorse Espaillat challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier". City and State New York. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  29. 1 2 Mansoor, Sanya (April 29, 2024). "'Gaza Calls, Columbia Falls': Campus Protesters Defy Suspension Threats and Occupy Hall". Time Magazine.
  30. ↑ Pinto, Nick; Ang, Angelica (April 30, 2024). "Columbia's Student Protesters Are Still Schooling the Administration". Hellgate NYC. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  31. 1 2 3 Goldenberg, Sally; King, Maya (May 28, 2026). "Mamdani Vowed to Back Espaillat. Now He's Endorsing a D.S.A. Challenger". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  32. ↑ Tress, Luke (June 5, 2026). "Mamdani-backed Congress candidate defends joining Oct. 8 rally celebrating Hamas atrocities". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  33. 1 2 3 4 Coltin, Jeff (June 4, 2026). "Avila Chevalier attended the Oct. 8 pro-Palestinian rally Lander condemned". City & State. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  34. ↑ Pengelly, Martin (October 10, 2023). "AOC decries 'bigotry and callousness' of pro-Palestinian rally in New York". The Guardian. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Hundreds protest at Columbia over school's decision to suspend student groups calling for cease-fire". ABC7 New York. November 15, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  36. ↑ Mansoor, Sanya (May 1, 2024). "Inside Columbia and City College's Darkest Night". TIME. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
  37. 1 2 3 King, Maya (November 20, 2025). "Justice Democrats Re-Emerge in New York to Try to Unseat Espaillat". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  38. 1 2 Aponte, Claudia Irizarry; Samuel, Marina (November 24, 2025). "Union Members Take On Congressional Incumbents in Manhattan and The Bronx". The City. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  39. ↑ Coltin, Jeff (March 12, 2026). "Why Espaillat challenger Chevalier ranked Lander fifth for mayor". City & State NY. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  40. ↑ McMenamin, Lex (April 15, 2026). "'Fund people, not bombs': inside the US movement against war in Iran". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  41. ↑ Gao, Dora; Meerbaum, Pedro; Pillai, Daksha (March 9, 2026). "Mahmoud Khalil, SIPA '24, addresses dozens at rally marking one year since ICE arrest". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  42. ↑ Dias, Geovany (March 9, 2026). "Advocates rally for the release of a woman held by ICE for nearly a year". PIX11. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  43. ↑ Solender, Andrew (November 20, 2025). "Hispanic Caucus chair becomes latest House Democrat to draw a primary foe". Axios. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  44. ↑ Robillard, Kevin (November 20, 2025). "Mamdani's Win Is Inspiring A Wave Of Left-Wing Challengers In NYC". HuffPost.
  45. ↑ Solis, Marcus (June 19, 2026). "Adriano Espaillat, Darializa Avila Chevalier to face off in contentious New York-13 primary". ABC7 New York. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  46. ↑ Daniels, Cheyanne (January 25, 2026). "The rift over generational change roils the Congressional Black Caucus". Politico.
  47. 1 2 Aponte, Claudia Irizarry (May 15, 2026). "Espaillat Ramps Up Efforts to Fend Off DSA-Backed Challenger". The City. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  48. ↑ Aponte, Claudia Irizarry (April 20, 2026). "DSA-Backed Challenger Says She's Gaining on Rep. Adriano Espaillat". The City. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  49. ↑ "Endorsed Candidates". Justice Democrats. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  50. 1 2 Solender, Andrew (May 29, 2026). "House's top Hispanic Dem is in a fight for his political life". Axios. Archived from the original on June 10, 2026. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
  51. ↑ Oreskes, Benjamin (June 4, 2026). "We Interrupt This Knicks Victory for a Political Ad Starring Mamdani". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
  52. 1 2 Martinez, Edwin (May 29, 2026). "Mamdani anuncia respaldo a Darializa Avila para llegar al Congreso: 'Hay que abolir a ICE'". El Diario NY (in Spanish). Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  53. ↑ Herreria, Carla (May 29, 2026). "Mamdani endorses democratic socialist challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat". MS Now. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  54. ↑ Prater, Nia (May 29, 2026). "Mamdani's Highest-Stakes Endorsement Yet". Intelligencer. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  55. ↑ Bergin, Brigid (May 29, 2026). "Mayor Mamdani flexes political power with endorsement of Espaillat challenger". Gothamist. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  56. ↑ "NYC CAP Announces Third Round of 2026 Endorsements". UAW Region 9A. April 17, 2026. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  57. ↑ Donaldson, Sahalie (April 27, 2026). "DSA is targeting Rep. Adriano Espaillat in NY-13". City & State NY. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  58. ↑ Steakin, William (June 4, 2026). "Hasan Piker declares 'I'm not a kingmaker' after his candidates struggle". Politico. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  59. ↑ Pretsky, Holly (June 16, 2026). "Super PACs have spent millions boosting Adriano Espaillat and Darializa Avila Chevalier. Both candidates think that's super hypocritical!". City & State NY. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  60. ↑ Solender, Andrew (June 11, 2026). "Hispanic Caucus spending "heavily" to save its chair from Mamdani-backed challenger". Axios. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  61. ↑ Sterne, Peter (June 20, 2026). "AIPAC is helping boost Espaillat against DSA challenge". City & State New York. Archived from the original on June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  62. ↑ Kane, Alex (June 11, 2026). "An Anti-AIPAC Insurgent Tests Her Message in a Working-Class Stronghold". Jewish Currents. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  63. ↑ Grim, Ryan; Andreone, Julian (June 16, 2026). "Pro-Israel Donors Power Last-Minute Surge of Espaillat Spending". Drop Site News. Archived from the original on June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  64. ↑ Beeferman, Jason; Fernandez, Madison; Reisman, Nick; Sommerfeldt, Chris (May 14, 2026). "Progressives for Espaillat". Politico. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  65. ↑ Beeferman, Jason (January 15, 2026). "Congressional Black Caucus backs Espaillat in primary". Politico. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  66. ↑ Silva, Manuela (June 19, 2026). "This New York Race Is a Microcosm of Democrats' Identity Fight". Notus. Archived from the original on June 21, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  67. ↑ Bergin, Brigid (June 4, 2026). "From Insurgent to Establishment: Rep. Espaillat Reckons With Uptown's Shift to the Left". Gothamist. Archived from the original on June 4, 2026. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  68. 1 2 Neel, Macollvie J. (June 24, 2026). "Anti-Haitian bias in Dominican political circles laid bare in NY congressional race". The Haitian Times. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
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  104. ↑ Keith, Tamara; Gringlas, Sam; Lopez, Ashley; Moore, Elena (February 6, 2026). "How fights over ICE funding are playing out on the Hill and in midterm races". NPR. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
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  106. ↑ Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier believes all deportations are wrong. Vox. Retrieved June 27, 2026 – via www.youtube.com.
  107. ↑ Sterne, Peter (July 1, 2026). "Darializa Avila Chevalier is dating Mamdani's lawyer Ramzi Kassem". City & State. Ramzi Kassem and I met outside an ICE detention facility, both working to free someone unjustly held," she said in a statement. "Over the years, as we collaborated on different projects, our professional acquaintance became a friendship, which grew into a romantic relationship. I'm deeply grateful for such a loving, supportive partner – he's been a refuge these past few years. Like most couples, we value our privacy, and ask that it be respected.