Three candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America won House primaries in the city this week, and a conservative commentator at The Federalist is warning that Republicans should take the result seriously. The piece, published June 26, is an opinion column, and the characterizations below are the author’s.
The upset in the 13th District
The biggest surprise came in New York’s 13th Congressional District, which covers Manhattan and the Bronx. Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32, a DSA member and Columbia University doctoral student with no prior elected experience, defeated five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Justice Democrats, the group that helped send Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress, recruited her. The Federalist describes her as widely viewed as further left than Ocasio-Cortez.
The column points to her record at Columbia. She co-founded Columbia University Apartheid Divest, which the author says has called for undermining Western civilization, endorsed “liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance,” and expressed support for Hamas. The author adds that she joined pro-Palestinian rallies right after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and helped lead the encampments at Columbia. Her platform includes abolishing ICE, defunding the police and Medicare for All, and she has posted disparaging comments about the American flag, the column says.
The Wall Street Journal reported, the column notes, that Espaillat endorsed Mamdani last year expecting the favor back. Mamdani backed Chevalier instead.
Other winners
State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez won the open 7th District seat vacated by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez. Former City Comptroller Brad Lander beat Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th. Both ran on slogans including “Tax the Rich. Abolish ICE. Free Palestine,” according to the column, which says Valdez was arrested in 2025 while protesting outside the offices of Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand over U.S. support for Israel.
DSA-aligned candidates also did well in state legislative races. Aber Kawas won a state Senate primary; the column says she has claimed that 9/11 was “America’s fault.”
The author’s argument
The column says DSA, which it puts at more than 100,000 members, is systematically winning Democratic primaries in deep-blue cities. It cites Katie Wilson’s 2025 election as Seattle mayor, Nithya Raman’s advance to the Los Angeles mayoral runoff, and Janeese Lewis George’s win in the Democratic mayoral primary in Washington, D.C.
It also notes an exit poll after Mamdani’s election showing most of his supporters held bachelor’s degrees or higher. After this week’s vote, journalist Batya Ungar-Sargon observed that Chevalier performed poorly in predominantly Black, Hispanic and lower-income neighborhoods. The author urges Republicans to court those voters with conservative proposals instead of cheering the Democrats’ internal fight.
