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The defeat of Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) in this week’s primary toppled a powerful and history-making incumbent, sparking complex feelings for members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) he now chairs.
Espaillat and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) were two New York incumbents who lost to candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), a case of progressive candidates being forced out by those even further to the left.
“It’s heartbreaking. It is so heartbreaking. The first formerly undocumented member of Congress, a real fighter for his district, someone who I think really helped the CHC be a powerhouse this Congress. It’s a huge loss. It’s a huge loss for the caucus; it’s a loss for the Congress, it’s a loss for the country,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), a member of the caucus who has worked with Espaillat for years and who, like many others in the CHC, is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), another close friend of Espaillat’s, started tearing up when speaking with The Hill.
“I think we’re all going through our own personal seven steps of grief. I’m kind of stuck on anger because he’s just done so much,” she said.
“He’s brought this caucus to a new level, speaking on issues not just on immigration, but jobs, wages, schools, I mean the cross section, because frankly, every issue impacts our Latino communities, and he’s always been there to champion that … He’s been a champion for civil rights, for immigrant rights and for hardworking, decent people, and I think that will be his legacy.”
Tensions over the New York primaries have been brewing for months, though all three figures backed by Mamdani easily won their primaries.
Retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) in January warned Mamdani about interfering in primaries, saying it “opens up fights” and “can be a distraction from the work that you need to do.”
Mamdani, however, backed the opponent of Velázquez’s chosen successor, and while he had initially not planned to endorse anyone in Espaillat’s race, Mamdani reneged, backing Darializa Avila Chevalier.
“He was a casualty of the political dynamics in New York City, and the popularity of Mayor Mamdani, and the benefit of goodwill that he currently wields in New York,” Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), a CHC member, told The Hill.
“It reflects the dynamics in New York. It has a generational dimension. There’s a desire by the electorate for perhaps bolder positions on issues.”
Data from The New York Times showed a split in how voters within Espaillat’s district favored him or his competitor.
Younger, wealthier, better-educated voters broke for Avila Chevalier while lower-income and primarily Hispanic areas of the district, which includes many longtime residents, broke for Espaillat.
“The fascinating part to me is Adriano Espaillat is a progressive Democrat, Dan Goldman is a progressive Democrat. These are not moderates, these are not centrists, and yet that was not good enough for the socialists,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, a fellow New York Democrat.
“It’s clear in Black communities, you know, Adriano Espaillat got an overwhelming part of the vote. In Hispanic communities, he got the overwhelming part of the vote. In neighborhoods where people have been living there for a long period of time, he got the overwhelming – but we’ve got to understand that neighborhoods change.”
Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a CHC member whose late father, Raúl, also served alongside Espaillat, called him a coalition builder who was also able to do much for his district through his role on the House Appropriations Committee in addition to chairing the CHC.
“You have to understand that us being elected in these positions, it doesn’t matter with what position we have here in Congress, it’s the voters in your hometown that are the ones that make the decision,” she said.
“I think that it’s the issues that maybe he wasn’t as progressive on that ended up being a catalyst for this race,” she added, noting the outsize role the Israel-Palestine conflict has played in primaries.
“It’s not an age thing. And so, when people say that, well, it’s like younger and more progressive, you need to show me policies on how you’re more progressive.”
Escobar, however, praised Espaillat as someone well aware of the realities of operating in Congress, including in backing legislation more likely to get votes. She appreciated his support for her immigration bill, one that was crafted alongside Florida Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.
“Adriano is a very progressive member. I’m a very progressive member, but there are realities in government and choices you have to make in order to keep the ball moving forward, right?” Escobar said.
“Governing is very different from, you know, from being a candidate, and so there’s a reality that comes with governing and what you can do, and he understood that reality and maneuvered within the realm of what was possible as long as we were achieving progress.”
Espaillat said little to the press this week but on Thursday told reporters as he stepped onto an elevator that he would “continue to fight for the pro-immigration agenda” as chair.
He earned praise from fellow CHC member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) who, like Avila Chevalier, is a democratic socialist but called losing Espaillat a “hard thing.”
“Congressman Espaillat, he absolutely is a trailblazer. He made history in his district. He was a formerly undocumented Dominican immigrant who then ascended here in the halls of Congress, became chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. His tenure here is historic. His fight for immigrants and his record is — it is so broad — and his impact and legacy is massive. I think that I have so much respect for all the work that he’s done and the groundwork that he’s laid for the immigrant community, the Dominican community, the Latino community as well,” she said.
“I know that of course he will be very deeply missed,” Ocasio-Cortez added, calling Espaillat’s loss “a hard thing” for a lot of members of the caucus.
With the chair’s loss, the CHC will have the chance to welcome a new member, as Avila Chevalier is also Dominican.
“He is someone very well respected within the caucus. I respect him deeply, and so, of course, there’s going to be a sense of loss in seeing him transition out of this position. And I also urge people to be welcoming to who is coming, another Latina, a young Latina, coming to Congress, who’s going to fight for working people in that district,” Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), a member of the CHC.
“And so I think that it’s important for us to join in gratitude for all that Adriano has done, while concurrently making sure that we don’t find ourselves disrespecting or minimizing the win of another candidate that’s now going to be a member of Congress as well.”
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Adelita Grijalva Adriano Espaillat Daniel Goldman Gregory Meeks Maria Elvira Salazar Nydia Velazquez Sylvia Garcia Veronica Escobar Zohran MamdaniCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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