Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old Democratic Socialist, has won a landslide victory in New York's 13th Congressional District, which encompasses Harlem and the Bronx. The election results on Tuesday night saw Chevalier secure 87.5 percent of the vote, defeating her Republican challenger Jomo Williams.
Chevalier's platform includes advocating for the abolition of police and prisons, and she has expressed views against deporting undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes. In past statements, she has called for an end to all border enforcement and voiced support for abolishing borders entirely. She has also criticized President Joe Biden, referring to him as a "rapist and war criminal."
Chevalier's past social media posts, many of which she deleted during her campaign, included controversial remarks such as stating that "a world without borders, just like a world without prisons or police, is possible, necessary, and the only moral way forward." She also previously wrote that "the pyromania associated with anarchism is very intriguing to me." In a podcast appearance, she stated that she believed it is "unconstitutional" to deport illegal immigrants convicted of crimes in the U.S.
In addition to her policy positions, Chevalier has faced scrutiny for past comments about women, including remarks about white women. She has also been arrested at an anti-Israel protest in September.
Chevalier's victory places her among a group of far-left candidates who also won House seats in New York City. She is poised to become a prominent socialist voice in Congress, joining other Democratic Socialists of America-linked representatives who also won seats in the midterms. Chevalier celebrated her victory at a tavern in Harlem, wearing a Palestine-inspired Keffiyeh.