There seems to be no limit to how extreme the politicians in New York City can get. When “The Squad” entered Congress starting in 2018, it seemed like a new left-wing edge had been identified. Now, a mere eight years later, that is the new ideological center of the Democratic Party. The latest exhibit in this ideological arms race is the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District, where five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat faces a spirited challenge from Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The June 23 primary pits someone so “progressive” that he brags that “he’s the first formerly undocumented member of Congress” against an even more radical activist who posts pictures of herself in a tent on Columbia’s campus standing with terrorists. Espaillat’s record is as left-wing as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, according to GovTrack, which measures all members of Congress. Yet in today’s Democratic Party, even that is apparently not left enough.
Chevalier, a 32-year-old organizer and public defense investigator, represents the next step in the never-ending quest for “progress”: a candidate steeped in communist ideology, pro-Palestine activism, and the full spectrum of socialist policy prescriptions. Mamdani’s endorsement is no surprise; it fits a clear pattern of rewarding those who seek to destroy Western civilization.
Chevalier isn’t just one of countless brainwashed younger millennials and Gen-Z useful idiots to the Palestinian cause; she is a ringleader. She was photographed and documented at a pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square on October 8, 2023—just one day after Hamas’s barbaric massacre of over 1,200 Israelis, the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Reports and footage show participants celebrating the atrocities, with signs decrying “Zionism is genocide.” This particular rally was so egregious that even Mamdani and the NYC-DSA distanced themselves from it, but there was Chevalier, front and center.
The district Chevalier is running in isn’t an obscure part of the city where the Jewish population is small or unaffiliated. Her potential district includes Washington Heights, which houses a vibrant young Jewish community and, of course, Yeshiva University. The notion of her representing the interests of these communities is akin to asking Hamas to organize the Israel Day Parade.
This contest is not an isolated flare-up. It is the latest chapter in a playbook first prominently executed in 2018 by Justice Democrats and allies like Ocasio-Cortez. That year, the group helped engineer stunning primary upsets against moderate Democrats, proving that in deep-blue districts, the path to power runs through the leftmost lane of the primary electorate.
The strategy is straightforward and ruthlessly effective: Target safe Democratic seats where general election victory is assured. Pour resources into grassroots mobilization, digital organizing, and endorsements from rising stars. Frame incumbents as insufficiently progressive—too cozy with real estate, too moderate on Israel, too slow on defunding police or embracing expansive socialist programs. Replace them with candidates further to the left, shifting the Overton window with each cycle. The Justice Democrats are one of the early endorsers of Chevalier.
We see it playing out across New York this primary season. In the 10th District, former City Comptroller Brad Lander is mounting a strong challenge against Rep. Dan Goldman. Lander, who aligned with Mamdani during the mayoral race, has garnered the mayor’s endorsement and is capitalizing on progressive discontent over Israel policy and other issues. Polls have shown Lander with a commanding lead, highlighting how even Goldman—a prosecutor with a liberal record who was the lead majority counsel during Donald Trump’s first impeachment inquiry in 2019, directing the investigation and questioning witnesses—can be painted as too centrist for the new Democratic base.
In Queens’ 6th District, Chuck Park is taking on Rep. Grace Meng. Park, a former diplomat, positions himself as the more progressive alternative in a district that has long been represented by Meng. The challenge underscores the pressure on incumbents to continually prove their left-wing bona fides or risk being primaried. Park repeatedly accuses Israel of targeting civilians on his campaign website.
This is one of the many issues with the gerrymandered redistricting taking place around the country. When there is no chance of true competition from someone from the other party, it becomes a race of ideologues and a purity test for who can take the more radical positions. There’s no need to moderate, because all that is necessary is your most extremist base of support. An extremist like Espaillat has to watch his left because someone like Chevalier is looking to outflank him. Someone like Mamdani is quickly becoming the new political center on the Left, with candidates all around the country trying to emulate him. It will only make our country worse, and the road to the bottom will be very difficult and bloody.
Moshe Hill is a political analyst and columnist. His work can be found at www.aHillwithaView.com and on X at @HillWithView.
