If someone called President Joe Biden a rapist, said “f— Kamala Harris” and there should be no borders for any country, and wiped their hands with the American flag, you’d likely send them to a therapist. Voters in the New York Democratic primary nominated that person for the congressional seat that covers parts of Manhattan and the Bronx in a narrow victory. Since her district is one of the most heavily Democratic in the nation, her primary win practically guarantees she will be elected to Congress.
Darializa Avila Chevalier also had zero political experience, as compared to fellow Dominican Adriano Espaillat, who’d been in Congress since 2017 and served as the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Espaillat has spoken about his experience working against Trump and said he himself was an immigrant who overstayed his visa. On June 15, polls had Espaillat ahead by eight points, though he lost the primary.
What could Chevalier possibly have that Espaillat did not?
This was clear in the last debate between the two, in which Chevalier began by accusing Israel of genocide in her opening statement – and four more times within the first 15 minutes – criticizing her incumbent opponent for not speaking out about Israel and for accepting money from AIPAC. Asked by Espaillat why she celebrated the murder of Israelis by protesting against Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, she said it was because she knew of the Israeli military response that was coming, though Espaillat pointed out that not even current Mayor Zohran Mamdani went to that protest because it was known that there would be radicals there.
Dov Hikind was a longtime Democratic New York State Assemblyman, who since retiring from politics has spearheaded the group Americans Against Antisemitism. “I know Espaillat,” Hikind said. “He’s a nice guy. But he was wishy-washy when it came to Israel. I’m not surprised Chevalier won. Even Dan Goldman [a Jewish Democrat incumbent who was defeated by Jewish Mamdani pick Brad Lander in the 10th District primary] – these are people who put their finger in the air to see what they should say. The other side is confident while they say their crap and they are dangerous. … They have a problem with Israel; they hate Jews and are not embarrassed about it. We better wake up to this reality.”
Hikind said the DSA has shown that being anti-Israel, even if a candidate lacks experience, is enough to win. “Mainstream Democrats,” he said, are on “life support. But we should remember there are also problems in the Republican Party and questions about President Trump.”
Political consultant and public relations expert Hank Sheinkopf was one of the first to say that Mamdani had a great chance to win, when others thought his campaign was a pipe dream. While the other two candidates Mamdani endorsed, Brad Lander and Claire Valdez, had political experience, Chevalier held no previous elected office.
“It was a surprise she won,” Sheinkopf told The Journal. “We have to take a step back and look at the street game and how the campaign was well-organized.” But what about her debate performance, in which she looked robotic in the first portion? “She was extremely rehearsed,” Sheinkopf said. “She had made so many mistakes with social media; they didn’t want her to make any more errors.”
While she later did apologize for an expletive against Harris, when debate moderator Courtney Gross pressed if she regretted the comments about Biden, she would not answer,.
Long considered a fringe group, unable to take the reins of power, the DSA appeals to those who were infuriated that Trump could retake the White house, despite all his scandals. With no current way to oust Trump, DSA candidates blamed his return to the White House on mainstream Democrats, who they claim were too weak. They also believe the loss was largely due to Harris not saying Israel committed a genocide.
Could Mamdani and the three candidates he endorsed have won without Trump retaking the White House? “No,” Sheinkopf said.
While famed Democratic consultant James Carville distanced himself from Chevalier, Sheinkopf said the Democratic Socialists of America see the mainstream Democratic Party as “a dead animal with flies hovering over it.” While he expects that either outgoing California Governor Gavin Newsom or former Vice President Kamala Harris will ultimately be the Democratic nominee, Sheinkopf said both will have to push their policy to be far more anti-Israel than they otherwise would have based on the success of the DSA.
Professor Jeffrey Lax, a professor at CUNY Kingsborough Community College who appears on Fox News and Newsmax and has written op-eds for the New York Post and Washington Examiner, has warned about the DSA for years, speaking out against its hardcore antizionist agenda.
That a candidate like Chevalier could defeat an experienced politician like Espaillat — who stated that a main difference between him and Chevalier was that he believes there should be a two-state solution and Israel should exist, whereas Chevalier believes Israel should not exist — was glaring.
“When Mamdani won, I thought the main reason was that [former New York Governor Andrew] Cuomo was a flawed candidate,” Lax said. “Mamdani is only a symptom. People in New York want socialism over capitalism. They think they are going to get everything for free, and it makes you wonder if they’ve ever taken an economics course.”
Lax said he expects antizionism and antisemitism to rise to new levels.
Asked if these victories would help Maine’s Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, who had a Nazi tattoo for 18 years, he said he was unsure. “Maine is a strange place,” he said. “I think [Republican incumbent Susan] Collins will win.” He said “mainstream” Democrats failed to root out radical candidates pushing an anti-Israel agenda, or to criticize inflammatory rhetoric, fearing it could cost them their job, but it may be exactly what happened.
“I put a ton of the blame on New York Senator [Chuck] Schumer,” Lax said. “He wrote a book about antisemitism. Have you heard anything from him in the last few days? Nothing. He thinks staying quiet will keep in power, but the result will be he’s going to get thrown out.”
Some Jews looking for a positive sign point to the victory of Ritchie Torres, who is pro-Israel and did not call Israel’s war a genocide. His challenger, Michael Blake, thought turning against AIPAC would help him defeat Torres on the wave of anti-Israel sentiment. It didn’t work, as Torres won by a landslide.
Irina Tsukerman, a human rights and national security attorney and editor of The Washington Outsider, said the Chevalier victory is not a shock. “I am not surprised that she defeated Espaillat any more than I am surprised that Mamdani defeated Cuomo,” Tsukerman told The Journal. “If you are going to be facing a rising populist with a huge support of an energized mayor, you’d better be sure you yourself have overwhelming support, which he did not, because like Cuomo, he is a problematic [figure]. Second, gentrification, as many have pointed out, and his base was far closer to the type of people who’d vote for an unabashed radical – college-educated middle- and upper-class whites rather than the lower class or working-class Blacks and Hispanics traditionally favoring Espaillat. Third, it was a mistake for him to give in to bait and to allow the conversation to turn to Israel and Jewish issues. He should have kept the race focused on constituent services and the concerns typically shared by his voters, rather than allow his opponent to hijack the race. This is how Ritchie Torres won in a comparable situation by 50 points and this is how Torres kept Mamdani out of getting involved. You make it about Israel, you are asking for trouble in the current political climate.”
