New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed the democratic socialist challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair and the first formerly undocumented person elected to Congress, for his seat in New York’s 13th Congressional District.
Mamdani endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier on Thursday during a joint interview on MS NOW’S “The Briefing with Jen Psaki.”
Mamdani praised Avila Chevalier, 32, as a “champion” who will be on the “front lines” of showing what the Democratic Party should model going forward.
“We have to be fighting for a vision that reckons with the fact that working people were not left behind just four years ago or 16 years ago. They were left behind a long time before that,” Mamdani said. “It will take a new generation of leadership to ensure that the heartbeat of this party is once again the struggles of the working class, and in electing a champion like Darializa to represent Uptown Manhattan and the Bronx, we could have exactly that in Congress.”
Mamdani had previously committed to supporting Espaillat, 71, in his reelection bid but changed course after Avila Chevalier’s campaign gained momentum, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing three people familiar with the decision.
Espaillat has represented New York’s 13th District since 2017. During last year’s mayoral race, he initially endorsed Mamdani’s opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but later backed Mamdani after he won the Democratic primary.
In response to the endorsement, Espaillat said that Mamdani “is entitled to support the candidate of his choice.”
“But one endorsement does not make a race. Voters do,” the congressman said in a statement.








