A democratic socialist backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani leads Rep. Adriano Espaillat in this month’s Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District, according to polling conducted for Justice Democrats by Data for Progress.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a grad student and organizer of the Gaza protests at Columbia University, leads Espaillat 39-35; the interviews with 319 likely primary voters were conducted June 3-9, during which time Mamdani released an ad supporting Avila Chevalier, and Espaillat responded with an ad claiming his challenger deleted tweets that called Joe Biden a “rapist” and used a four-letter word to attack Kamala Harris.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is standing with Espaillat, and the congressman’s allies have cried foul on Mamdani for endorsing against a Democrat who supported him after the 2025 primary, when others stuck with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo or stayed neutral.