Rising socialist stars on track to Congress: Who are Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander and Claire Valdez?
The Democratic Party has an identity crisis.Three far-left radicals backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primary elections Tuesday night in a clean sweep by socialist and...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Democratic Party has an identity crisis. Three far-left radicals backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primary elections Tuesday night in a clean sweep by socialist and socialist-adjacent candidates. The mayor's preferred candidates destroyed those backed by the Democrat establishment and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), leaving party leadership shellshocked. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) members Darializa Avila Chevalier and State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez, along with progressive Democrat and former DSA member Brad Lander, all have a clear path to Congress after winning in heavily blue districts. Here's what we know about them: 'PARTY OF ZOHRAN': MAMDANI EMERGES AS DEMOCRATIC KINGMAKER AFTER SOCIALIST ALLIES SWEEP NYC PRIMARIES Avila Chevalier, 32, is originally from Florida. She attended Columbia University and is currently pursuing a PhD at the City University of New York (CUNY). She spent much of her time in college organizing against the political right, and is a hardline anti- Israel actor. At the Ivy League school, she helped found a group called Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which later caused a firestorm when it posted "Death to America" in Farsi on X. In 2024, the group faced widespread condemnation when it stated that it was "fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization." Columbia has distanced itself from the group. MAMDANI STANDS BY FELLOW SOCIALIST CANDIDATE DESPITE RESURFACED FAR-LEFT, ANTI-AMERICAN POSTS Avila Chevalier identifies as "Afro Latina" and converted to Islam in recent years. Her parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic before she was born, and her nationality became a central focus of her primary battle in the largely Dominican 13th Congressional District, especially as she appeared to distance herself from her roots. Tuesday night, she ousted five-term Democrat Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), a progressive in his own right, after running against him from his le…