Chevalier and Espaillat are trading nasty barbs in a race that could prove a crucial test of Mamdani’s influence
New York City’s ethnic fault lines are on full display in the closing days of highly contested Democratic primaries across the Big Apple, with Zohran Mamdani and his fellow socialists taking heat for exploiting racial and religious divisions.
In the Bronx, where Rep. Adriano Espaillat has been locked in a tight fight with socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who has Mamdani’s endorsement, his allies have leaned into Espaillat’s Dominican and Christian roots.
“To the Dominican Americans in NYC… Dominicans in New York with voting rights must stay highly alert… everything points to Mayor Mandhany [sic] being focused on reducing or downplaying the political influence of the hardworking and thriving Dominican community,” Pelegrin Castillo, a former energy minister of the Dominican Republic, posted earlier this month.
Castillo continued:
He proposed a Muslim candidate to run against Representative @RepEspaillat… who apparently had refused certain demands from the mayor, who aspires to ethnically reconfigure the election district, integrate new voters from other groups that are more aligned with him, including among them the Haitians with whom he has strong commitments. The mayor of NYC has just appointed a sheriff of Haitian origin. North Americans of Dominican descent must respond with unity to that crazy strategy of Mandhany. At the same time, they must remind Representative Espaillat that he must give the highest priority on his agenda to denouncing the international crime being committed against the DR: there is no Dominican solution to Haiti’s problems.
The post was denounced by Brooklyn councilman and Chevalier supporter Chi Ossé, a close ally of Mamdani.
“Surrogates of the campaign against Darializa have been peddling in anti-Black racism, specifically against Haitians. This has even included calling Darializa Haitian as though that were a slur. I condemn the vile racism in @EspaillatNY’s camp, and call on him to do the same,” Ossé said in an X post Monday.
Dominicans and Haitians—Hispanic and black, respectively—have long-established ethnic beefs stemming from their shared island geography. A Dominican massacre of Haitians in 1937, in which up to 75,000 Haitians were killed, remains a bone of contention between the communities.
The simmering racial tensions continue in the 13th district, where Chevalier and Espaillat are duking it out. Harlem, which is now in the 13th district, was represented by the black congressman Charles Rangel for 46 years. The historic neighborhood is now in a majority Hispanic district, due to redistricting, and Espaillat, who is Dominican, has held the seat since 2017.
Mayor Mamdani has endorsed three candidates for tomorrow’s primaries—Brad Lander for New York’s 10th district, Claire Valdez for New York’s 7th district, and Chevalier for the 13th. Two, Valdez and Chevalier, are Democratic Socialists, and all three strongly oppose Israel. Espaillat is a supporter of Israel in a district with a large modern Orthodox Jewish community.
The mayor has been stumping hard for all three of his chosen candidates, who are not supported by the Democratic Party establishment. Mamdani has also leaned into his well-documented skepticism of Jewish voters and political organizations.
“Now is the time of monsters. These monsters take many forms today. In those who fund… bad faith attacks… those who would rather spend far more on political contributions than they would ever be made to pay in taxes,” Mamdani said during a campaign rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders on behalf of his slate on Thursday.
“In AIPAC, for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and Netanyahu’s wars.”
The line led to renewed accusations that the mayor was trafficking in antisemitism.
“The only real monster in this story is the hatred you continue to normalize,” said Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.
“Swap ‘AIPAC’ for ‘Jews’ and it’s the oldest antisemitic conspiracy theory in the books. That’s not criticizing a lobby. That’s laundering antisemitism from your podium as Mayor of a city with more than a million Jews. This bullshit is dangerous,” added Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat.
Early voting has been underway in the Big Apple since June 13. Voting will wrap up Tuesday evening. The elections are the first major test of Mamdani’s political muscle in the aftermath of his own unlikely victory in the mayor’s race last year.
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