Darializa Avila Chevalier Defeats AIPAC-Backed Incumbent Adriano Espaillat
HARLEM, NY — Darializa Avila Chevalier Tuesday beat the odds — and more than $7 million in super PAC money spent against her — to defeat incumbent five-term Representative Adriano Espaillat, and to become the first woman to represent NY-13 in Congress. Avila Chevalier, 32, an organizer and public defense investigator, is a New Yorker from a working-class background who was recruited to run for Congress just last autumn by Justice Democrats. “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,” said Congresswoman-elect Darializa Avila Chevalier. “For too long, uptown and the Bronx have been overlooked, let down, and neglected. That ends today. We deserve leadership in Washington that will fight tooth and nail for every single one of us, and I can’t wait to get to work with our community to deliver on that promise.” Avila Chevalier’s victory is notable not only because of her status as a first-time candidate, but also because of the deeply entrenched nature of the political machine she defeated. Espaillat, 71, is a five-term incumbent in Congress, but also has previously served from 1997-2010 in the NYS Assembly and from 2011-2016 in the NYS Senate. In total, he has served for 29 years as an elected office in uptown Manhattan — the vast majority of 32-year old Avila Chevalier’s life. Tueday’s victory has made it clear that New Yorkers are ready for a new generation of leadership: one that prioritizes a politics of unity and solidarity rather than divisiveness, and one that seeks to uplift all people community-wide. Today’s victory has also made it clear that people power has won out over big money. In total, nearly $7 million were spent by pro-Espaillat PACs and super PACs, more than twice the less than $3 million spent by organizations and groups supporting Avila Chevalier’s campaign. AIPAC and DMFI were key players backing Espaillat, funnelling hundreds of thousands of dollars through shell PACs like Bold America PAC in an attempt to anonymously dump cash into elections but avoid disclosing their donors until after Election Day, long after the impacts of their outsize spending has been felt by voters. In addition, Espaillat’s campaign was funded by more than $115,000 from ICE contractors, nearly $250,000 from the same real estate lobbies driving up rents and pushing working people out of the district, $78,000 from corporate PACs, and, just in the 2025-2026 cycle alone, over $145,000 from AIPAC directly — bringing the total amount of money he has accepted from AIPAC throughout his career to more than $676,000. Tuesday, however, a campaign rich with corporate money but lacking in people power was rejected wholesale. New Yorkers chose a politics of hope and of life with Avila Chevalier, and rejected the status quo politics that has left uptown and the Bronx behind for far too long. Avila Chevalier’s vision to abolish ICE, secure affordable and dignified housing for all, and divest from the war machine abroad and instead re-invest that money in our communities here at home — where we invest in our babies, not bombs — speaks to the priorities of voters in Harlem, Washington Heights, Kingsbridge, and beyond. In contrast, Darializa Avila Chevalier refused AIPAC money, corporate PAC money, and crypto money. Her campaign has always been powered by the people and fighting for the people — and today, voters have made it clear that her campaign is also the choice of the people. She is running on a platform of Housing for All, abolishing ICE, and investing in people here at home — not in bombs abroad. Her campaign was not only the first challenger candidate in NY-13 history to pass the $1 million raised mark, but she also raised that staggering sum as a first-time, working class candidate from more than 10,000 individual donors and with an average donation of just $66. Darializa’s campaign was also backed by the same coalition that fights for everyday working people such as: Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Justice Democrats, NYC-DSA, UAW Region 9A, Our Revolution, Indivisible National, Sunrise Movement National, Uptown Community Democrats, Inwood Indivisible, Jewish Voice for Peace, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, State Senator Robert Jackson, State Senator Jabari Brisport, NYC Councilmembers Chi Ossé and Shahana Hanif, Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, and former Congressman Jamaal Bowman. Darializa Avila Chevalier is building power for all New Yorkers, not just the wealthy and the well-connected. To learn more about her campaign, visit darializaforcongress.com. A working-class Afro-Latina raised by Dominican immigrant parents, Darializa Avila Chevalier has spent her life organizing for the people politicians leave behind. She fought to free Abdikadir Mohamed from ICE detention during Trump’s Muslim ban. She organized Columbia’s encampment in solidarity with Pales
Black News 
HARLEM, NY — Darializa Avila Chevalier Tuesday beat the odds — and more than $7 million in super PAC money spent against her — to defeat incumbent five-term Representative Adriano Espaillat, and to become the first woman to represent NY-13 in Congress. Avila Chevalier, 32, an organizer and public defense investigator, is a New Yorker from a working-class background who was recruited to run for Congress just last autumn by Justice Democrats.
“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,” said Congresswoman-elect Darializa Avila Chevalier. “For too long, uptown and the Bronx have been overlooked, let down, and neglected. That ends today. We deserve leadership in Washington that will fight tooth and nail for every single one of us, and I can’t wait to get to work with our community to deliver on that promise.”
Avila Chevalier’s victory is notable not only because of her status as a first-time candidate, but also because of the deeply entrenched nature of the political machine she defeated. Espaillat, 71, is a five-term incumbent in Congress, but also has previously served from 1997-2010 in the NYS Assembly and from 2011-2016 in the NYS Senate. In total, he has served for 29 years as an elected office in uptown Manhattan — the vast majority of 32-year old Avila Chevalier’s life.
Tueday’s victory has made it clear that New Yorkers are ready for a new generation of leadership: one that prioritizes a politics of unity and solidarity rather than divisiveness, and one that seeks to uplift all people community-wide. Today’s victory has also made it clear that people power has won out over big money.
In total, nearly $7 million were spent by pro-Espaillat PACs and super PACs, more than twice the less than $3 million spent by organizations and groups supporting Avila Chevalier’s campaign. AIPAC and DMFI were key players backing Espaillat, funnelling hundreds of thousands of dollars through shell PACs like Bold America PAC in an attempt to anonymously dump cash into elections but avoid disclosing their donors until after Election Day, long after the impacts of their outsize spending has been felt by voters. In addition, Espaillat’s campaign was funded by more than $115,000 from ICE contractors, nearly $250,000 from the same real estate lobbies driving up rents and pushing working people out of the district, $78,000 from corporate PACs, and, just in the 2025-2026 cycle alone, over $145,000 from AIPAC directly — bringing the total amount of money he has accepted from AIPAC throughout his career to more than $676,000.
Tuesday, however, a campaign rich with corporate money but lacking in people power was rejected wholesale. New Yorkers chose a politics of hope and of life with Avila Chevalier, and rejected the status quo politics that has left uptown and the Bronx behind for far too long. Avila Chevalier’s vision to abolish ICE, secure affordable and dignified housing for all, and divest from the war machine abroad and instead re-invest that money in our communities here at home — where we invest in our babies, not bombs — speaks to the priorities of voters in Harlem, Washington Heights, Kingsbridge, and beyond.
In contrast, Darializa Avila Chevalier refused AIPAC money, corporate PAC money, and crypto money. Her campaign has always been powered by the people and fighting for the people — and today, voters have made it clear that her campaign is also the choice of the people.
She is running on a platform of Housing for All, abolishing ICE, and investing in people here at home — not in bombs abroad. Her campaign was not only the first challenger candidate in NY-13 history to pass the $1 million raised mark, but she also raised that staggering sum as a first-time, working class candidate from more than 10,000 individual donors and with an average donation of just $66. Darializa’s campaign was also backed by the same coalition that fights for everyday working people such as: Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Justice Democrats, NYC-DSA, UAW Region 9A, Our Revolution, Indivisible National, Sunrise Movement National, Uptown Community Democrats, Inwood Indivisible, Jewish Voice for Peace, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, State Senator Robert Jackson, State Senator Jabari Brisport, NYC Councilmembers Chi Ossé and Shahana Hanif, Assemblymember Claire Valdez, Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, and former Congressman Jamaal Bowman.
Darializa Avila Chevalier is building power for all New Yorkers, not just the wealthy and the well-connected. To learn more about her campaign, visit darializaforcongress.com.
A working-class Afro-Latina raised by Dominican immigrant parents, Darializa Avila Chevalier has spent her life organizing for the people politicians leave behind. She fought to free Abdikadir Mohamed from ICE detention during Trump’s Muslim ban. She organized Columbia’s encampment in solidarity with Palestinians. She stood up for Mahmoud Khalil when ICE abducted him from his apartment. She is a member of UAW and a public defense investigator. She doesn’t just talk about the movement — she’s helped build it.
