Shapiro Warns Democrats After 49.4% Chevalier Upset in New York Primary

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 5

Josh Shapiro said Democrats need a "battle over what we believe in" after democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat in New York's 13th District primary.
With more than 86% of expected votes counted, Chevalier led 49.4% to 45.9%, extending a run of New York primary wins by candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Shapiro cast the result as a test for the party's left flank, saying candidates who generate activist energy and "performative politics" must prove they can govern and deliver on costs, healthcare and daily economic pressures.
He also distanced himself from Chevalier's politics, saying he had "profound differences" with her even as he argued district-level races in New York do not map neatly onto Democratic contests in Pennsylvania.
Chevalier, a Democratic Socialists of America member, called her win "a new dawn" for the district; her platform includes abolishing ICE, Medicare-for-all and housing expansion, underscoring the ideological fight Shapiro says Democrats now face.