In a congressional district that encompasses upper Manhattan and a portion of the Bronx, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist, has emerged victorious in the contentious Democratic primary against five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat.
With 88% of the votes counted, the New York Times has called the race in Avila Chevalier’s favor. She currently leads Espaillat 49.4% to 45.9%.
‘Zohran endorsed her, so I voted for her.’
“I am so thrilled to have the support of my community, and I am so proud that they have put their trust in me to send me to Congress on their behalf,” Avila Chevalier told Norwood News.
But let’s break down the results further.
The 13th Congressional District of New York contains a population of roughly 750,000 people in an area of 11 square miles, which equates to about 68,000 people per square mile. In the recent election, the Manhattan portion of the district accounted for a significantly larger share of the vote than the Bronx portion.
The median age in the district is 39 years old, with 50% of the residents identifying as Hispanic, 24% as black, and 17% as white.
The district is also one of the poorest congressional districts in the country, with a quarter of its residents living below the poverty line and a median household income of just above $52,400.
According to the Times, Espaillat outperformed Avila Chevalier by a sizeable margin of 28 points in the Bronx, while in Manhattan, Avila Chevalier led by a margin of eight points.
Espaillat was able to secure the black (+2.2) and Hispanic (+15.3) vote, as well as the vote of lower-income areas (+10.2). Avila Chevalier, on the other hand, dominated among younger voters (+24.5) and majority college-educated areas (+19.2), reflecting a broader trend of democratic socialists such as NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani performing well among these groups.
Avila Chevalier also led by 5.1 points in higher-income areas, the Times reported.
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“I’m an immigrant myself, and she has strong positions on immigration. It’s the first time I felt like I had a real choice with the Democratic primary. Zohran endorsed her, so I voted for her,” Juan Alvarez told the New York Post after casting his vote.
The politics of NY-13 have been consistently Democratic for decades, with voters backing Democrat candidates on the national, state, and local levels.
In last year’s New York City mayoral race, Mamdani performed strongly across the district. Both Espaillat and Avila Chevalier endorsed Mamdani for mayor, yet Mamdani later threw his support behind Avila Chevalier in the primary contest.
In her victory speech, Avila Chevalier declared to her crowd of supporters that “the politics of the past ends today.”
“The era of taking a check and cashing a check and calling it representation is over.”
“To every little black and brown girl, mujer dominicana, my Muslim sisters, and every working-class person here — our time has come.”
Avila Chevalier will face off against Republican nominee Manual Williams in the November general election, where she is expected to win comfortably.
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