New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s decision to endorse against Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat is threatening Mamdani’s relationships with influential Latinos on Capitol Hill.
Last week, Mamdani threw his support behind democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Justice Democrats-backed challenger. The endorsement sent shockwaves throughout the New York congressional delegation and the CHC.
It’s the latest controversial call Mamdani is making in contested House primaries, following his endorsements against retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s (D-N.Y.) preferred successor and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.).
“I think it’s outrageous,” Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) said of Mamdani’s endorsement against Espaillat.
“Here we have the leader of the Hispanic Caucus, who has worked hard in his position, a very progressive guy, and all of a sudden he’s cut off at the knees by the mayor, who told him he was going to support him.”
Espaillat, who’s served in the House since 2017, is the first formerly undocumented immigrant in Congress. While Espaillat initially backed Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral race, Espaillat quickly endorsed Mamdani after he won the primary.
“I accepted his decision and we’re moving forward,” Espaillat said of Mamdani. “I’ve delivered, I’ve been there and we pulled our neighborhood up. After many years of serious problems, the neighborhood now is a special place for people to live in.”
CHC reacts. CHC members told us they were dismayed by Mamdani’s endorsement because they see Espaillat as an effective fighter against President Donald Trump.
— Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.): “It’s unfortunate. Adriano Espaillat has been an excellent representative of people in his district who fights hard for all the progressive issues that Mamdani has claimed support for.”
— Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.): “He’s endorsing against the chair of the Hispanic Caucus, who’s been leading the effort on fighting against the Trump administration’s attack on immigrants.”
— Vargas: “All of a sudden, here comes this new guy, Mamdani, and says, ‘You’re no good, you’re out. No one’s in favor of that, we’re all arguing, how the hell can this happen? Even people who supported [Mamdani] are pissed off.”
Remaining neutral. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a CHC member, said she was staying out of the race.
“I know here that the CHC is very supportive of the congressman’s leadership of the caucus, and you’ve got the local politics in New York,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Espaillat’s challenger — Avila Chevalier — told us that, as “a proud Afro-Latina organizer, and daughter of Dominican immigrants,” she would “be honored” to join the CHC if elected.
Jeffries. Mamdani refused to back Chi Ossé’s short-lived primary challenge to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. But it hasn’t stopped Mamdani from going after members of Jeffries’ caucus.
We asked Jeffries if Mamdani was miscalculating on his endorsements.
“I trust the voters to make the right decision in all of these different races,” Jeffries responded. “I, of course, will continue to aggressively support Congressman Espaillat and Congressman Dan Goldman.”
