Desperate Democrats Take Eye Off Prize As Party Infighting Spreads Across US
'the GOP might have a chance to stay in power'
The People’s Republic of NY-13: Election results breakdown
In a congressional district that encompasses upper Manhattan and a portion of the Bronx, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist, has emerged victorious in the contentious Democratic primary against five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat.
With 88% of the votes counted, the New York Times has called the race in Avila Chevalier’s favor. She currently leads Espaillat 49.4% to 45.9%.
'Zohran endorsed her, so I voted for her.'
"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," Avila Chevalier told Norwood News.
But let’s break down the results further.
The 13th Congressional District of New York contains a population of roughly 750,000 people in an area of 11 square miles, which equates to about 68,000 people per square mile. In the recent election, the Manhattan portion of the district accounted for a significantly larger share of the vote than the Bronx portion.
The median age in the district is 39 years old, with 50% of the residents identifying as Hispanic, 24% as black, and 17% as white.
The district is also one of the poorest congressional districts in the country, with a quarter of its residents living below the poverty line and a median household income of just above $52,400.
According to the Times, Espaillat outperformed Avila Chevalier by a sizeable margin of 28 points in the Bronx, while in Manhattan, Avila Chevalier led by a margin of eight points.
Espaillat was able to secure the black (+2.2) and Hispanic (+15.3) vote, as well as the vote of lower-income areas (+10.2). Avila Chevalier, on the other hand, dominated among younger voters (+24.5) and majority college-educated areas (+19.2), reflecting a broader trend of democratic socialists such as NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani performing well among these groups.
Avila Chevalier also led by 5.1 points in higher-income areas, the Times reported.
“I’m an immigrant myself, and she has strong positions on immigration. It’s the first time I felt like I had a real choice with the Democratic primary. Zohran endorsed her, so I voted for her,” Juan Alvarez told the New York Post after casting his vote.
The politics of NY-13 have been consistently Democratic for decades, with voters backing Democrat candidates on the national, state, and local levels.
In last year’s New York City mayoral race, Mamdani performed strongly across the district. Both Espaillat and Avila Chevalier endorsed Mamdani for mayor, yet Mamdani later threw his support behind Avila Chevalier in the primary contest.
In her victory speech, Avila Chevalier declared to her crowd of supporters that "the politics of the past ends today."
"The era of taking a check and cashing a check and calling it representation is over."
"To every little black and brown girl, mujer dominicana, my Muslim sisters, and every working-class person here — our time has come.”
Avila Chevalier will face off against Republican nominee Manual Williams in the November general election, where she is expected to win comfortably.
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Trump MOCKS prolific MAGA-hater for getting 'CRUSHED' in Democratic primary
A virulent anti-Trump critic did very poorly in the Democratic primary election for an open seat representing Manhattan, and the president didn't hold back his mockery.
George Conway, ex-husband of former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, was a Republican political strategist before President Donald Trump won election in 2016. He has since become a fierce opponent of the president and even helped found the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political organization.
'This is a truly unattractive person, both inside and out. Have a nice life, George!'
None of that helped Conway in the primary race for New York's 12th Congressional District, which had a crowded field of candidates that included a Kennedy scion.
"Wow, Mr. Kellyanne Conway, a Trump Deranged Loser at the highest level, is getting absolutely CRUSHED in the Primaries tonight," the president wrote in a post on Truth Social, referring to Conway's defunct marriage.
"He’ll end up at about 5% of the vote in a rather weak field of young and aggressive Communists," Trump added. "No wonder his 'husband' dumped him like a dog! This is a truly unattractive person, both inside and out. Have a nice life, George!"
The Conway campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Kellyanne Conway was a Republican strategist who was Trump's campaign manager in 2016 and became a passionate supporter of his policies.
Kellyanne Conway left the Trump campaign just a few months ahead of the 2020 election. The Conways announced their divorce in March 2023 after two decades of marriage.
The primary election was called for New York state Assembly Member Micah Lasher, who garnered 39% of the vote with 87% of the ballots counted. Conway had gotten support from only 6% of the vote at that point.
Jack Kennedy Schlossberg, 33, also performed poorly despite carrying the Kennedy name — he received only about 11% of the vote.
RELATED: George Conway publicly chides Kellyanne Conway while she defends Trump
Lasher is a longtime Democrat who promised to "revamp and recharge the Democratic Party in Washington" after his victory.
He added that his goal was to show his party has "bold new ideas to improve the lives of struggling Americans and then deliver on them."
Lasher will likely have an easy road to Congress, as two-thirds of the voters in the district are registered as Democrats.
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Pastor arrested for allegedly forging signatures for Democratic primary
A 33-year-old pastor has been arrested for allegedly forging signatures in his bid to win the Democratic primary for a state House seat in 2024.
Rev. Robert Hoggard of Middletown, Connecticut, was reportedly an associate pastor at New Jerusalem Christian Center when he submitted signatures in support of his campaign for the 33rd House District.
'There's a political class that does everything in its power to try to dissuade voters from wanting to serve their communities and cancel this election.'
Connecticut allows non-endorsed candidates to get onto a primary ballot by collecting signatures from voters in the district.
Democratic Registrar of Voters Patricia Alston flagged the signatures as suspicious and began an investigation.
"The alarming evidence includes multiple voters who stated that they did not sign a primary petition for the candidacy of Robert Kyle Hoggard and that the signature listed on the documents turned into the registrar's office is fraudulent," Middletown Democratic Town Committee Chairman Mike Fallon said in June 2024.
Hoggard responded by accusing the Democratic Party of conspiring against him.
"Tactics like these dissuade people from wanting to run for office," he said at the time. "There's a political class that does everything in its power to try to dissuade voters from wanting to serve their communities and cancel this election. There's nothing this political class can do to dissuade me from wanting to run where I was born and raised."
Hoggard ran under the "We the People Party" in the general election and was absolutely crushed by incumbent state Rep. Brandon Chafee (D) by a vote of nearly 7,600 to less than 700.
Investigators with the Chief State's Attorney's office arrested Hoggard on Thursday and charged him with 14 counts of second-degree forgery and six counts of perjury. He was released on a written promise to reappear in court.
In response to a request for comment, Hoggard directed Blaze News to his attorney, John Kennelly, but Kennelly did not respond. New Jerusalem Christian Center also did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
RELATED: Top Oklahoma Democrat forced to resign after trying to pay Ethics Commission with a forged check
The CT Insider reported other election shenanigans in the state, including hundreds of voters being assigned to the wrong district in 2022 and 2024, and another incident where ballot petitions went missing.
Hoggard was also required to sign the petition forms in front of a notary public, attest to the veracity of the signatures, and certify that each signature was made in his presence.
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