Mamdani-endorsed Avila Chevalier says she won’t respond to being called a communist

Campaign Mamdani-endorsed Avila Chevalier says she won’t respond to being called a communist Comments: by Ashleigh Fields - 06/25/26 10:05 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Ashleigh Fields - 06/25/26 10:05 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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New York House candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier (D) said Wednesday that she will not respond to being called a communist, arguing her campaign ideals were deeply connected to the Democratic Party’s core base despite her ties to socialism.

“That framing is one that I’ve been very proud to be able to say I don’t respond to, one in which I have been very intentional to say I won’t be reactive,” Avila Chevalier, who was backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America, said when asked how she would respond to Republican ads framing her as a communist during an appearance on MS NOW’s “The 11th Hour.”

Avila Chevalier on Tuesday came out ahead of incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) to represent New York’s 13th Congressional District — which covers most of Upper Manhattan and portions of the West Bronx.

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Some critics of her campaign have accused the candidate of being an advocate for communism, which is an economic model that replaces private ownership with public ownership and often focuses on creating a classless society, as defined by Britannica.

Socialism focuses on narrowing the gap between the rich and poor to create a fairer class system and keeps some level of private ownership mixed with publicly owned enterprises, according to National Geographic.

Mamdani and his backers have advocated for city-run grocery stores, free healthcare, free transportation and higher taxes on the rich to even the economic playing field in the Big Apple.

“We are presenting a vision of what we’re fighting for. And I think for far too long, we have had politics that is reactive to what Republicans are doing,” Avila Chevalier said of the Democratic Party on Wednesday.

She continued, “What we need is Democrats who are actually going to present a positive vision, one that sets the tone for what we should be talking about, which is the issue of affordability, which is the issue of how our budgets are moral documents.”

“If we say that we want to invest in working people in this country, then we need to do that, and our budgets need to reflect that,” the candidate added.

Mamdani argued the same point on Wednesday, a day after three candidates he endorsed won their respective races.

“I think, what is the Democratic Party if not its voters? And what we saw yesterday evening were Democrats across the city turning out and voting for a new kind of politics,” the mayor said during an appearance on MS NOW’s “All In with Chris Hayes.”

“And I’ve been clear time and time again that I believe the only majority in our country is that of the working class,” he added.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, brushed off concerns that the progressive wins could hurt or influence the party or their brand.