Mamdani Picks a Fight — And His Pick Has Baggage

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier on Thursday, May 29, throwing his weight behind her Democratic Socialist primary challenge against five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York's 13th congressional district.

Within hours, Politico surfaced deleted posts from Chevalier's old X account that mainstream outlets are only now catching up to.

In 2020, Chevalier posted: "Y'all really sitting here talking about how we HAVE to vote for one rapist over the other rapist" — referring to sexual misconduct accusations against both Biden and Trump. Later that year she added: "I've voted in every election since I turned 18 but you out of your mind if you think I'm voting for a war criminal. This country is a f—ing disgrace."

Those posts are gone now. The internet isn't.

Who Is Darializa Avila Chevalier?

Chevalier is a Justice Democrats-backed challenger who launched her campaign in November 2025. Her opening statement attacked AIPAC, "real estate developers," and "corporate PACs" — the standard DSA playbook.

She's running against Espaillat, who was born in the Dominican Republic, is serving his fifth term, and chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — one of the most powerful caucuses in the House Democratic minority.

This is a DSA insurgent targeting one of the most prominent Latino Democrats in Congress.

Espaillat Hits Back — With a Coalition

Espaillat didn't flinch. On Thursday, he responded directly, listing endorsements from Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, according to the Daily Signal.

"Mayor Mamdani is entitled to support the candidate of his choice. But one endorsement does not..." — the statement trailed off in available reporting, but the message was clear: Espaillat isn't scared.

On the AIPAC attack, Espaillat told The New York Times flat-out: "No one that donates to my campaign has control over how I vote. Only my constituents tell me how to vote."

That's a direct denial. Whether you believe it is a separate question.

What Mamdani Is Actually Doing Here

This endorsement is bigger than one congressional race. Mamdani — affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America — is actively working to reshape New York's congressional delegation from the left. He's not quietly governing. He's building a political machine, and he's picking fights with Jeffries-aligned Democrats on purpose.

His statement about Chevalier: "Her campaign is powered by working people ready to reject a politics of big money and demand something better."

That's a direct shot at the Democratic Party establishment he nominally belongs to.

National Review notes Mamdani is simultaneously pushing plans to socialize New York City's housing market — giving government a dominant role in real estate. The congressional endorsement fits the same ideological frame: concentrate power on the left, purge moderates, move the Overton window.

The Deleted Posts Problem

Chevalier didn't just criticize Biden's policy. She called him a rapist. She refused to vote for him in a general election against Trump. She deleted the evidence.

Deletion isn't clarification. It's not an apology. It's an admission that the posts are a liability.

Mamdani endorsed her anyway — after those posts were already circulating, per the NY Post's reporting. Either his team didn't vet her, or they decided it didn't matter. Neither answer is flattering.

The mainstream left-leaning press has been slow on this. Politico broke the deleted posts story. Most outlets that covered the endorsement led with the political drama between Mamdani and Espaillat, treating Chevalier's history as a footnote. A congressional candidate who called former President Biden a rapist and war criminal — and then scrubbed the record — deserves scrutiny.

What This Means for Regular New Yorkers

Espaillat represents a majority-Hispanic district. The chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is now being targeted by a DSA-backed challenger, with the mayor of New York City providing air cover.

The voters in NY-13 will decide whether they want Espaillat's established, Jeffries-aligned representation or a DSA insurgent with a scorched-earth social media history and Justice Democrats money behind her.

For the broader city: Mamdani is positioning himself as a national socialist-left power broker — endorsing candidates, picking congressional fights, pushing housing socialization. Meanwhile, the city faces real problems that need attention.

The primary hasn't been scheduled yet. The war inside the Democratic Party just got louder — and Mamdani fired the latest shot.