Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, on Sunday admitted that he has “profound differences” with Darializa Avila Chevalier, the anti-Israel, anti-ICE Democrat nominated for Congress in New York — but he wouldn’t go so far as to say that Democrats should vote against her in November.
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Chevalier, a Democratic Socialist of America member endorsed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is heavily favored to win the seat in New York’s 13th congressional district.
Shapiro was confronted by CNN’s State of the Union host Dana Bash about Chevalier’s beliefs:
“She called for the abolition of prisons, open borders, end to deportations — even people convicted of violent crimes. She attended a pro-Palestinian rally on October 8th, 2023, a rally that reportedly featured some real anti-Semitic rhetoric justifying the attack. How do you feel as a Democrat about someone with those views being in the United States Congress?”
Shapiro responded:
“Look, her district voted for her. But I have profound differences from that particular candidate, based on the citations that you read there. And she’s not someone, you know, who seemingly I would agree with on many things, or that we share similar values.
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“She ran on the Democratic ticket, I guess as a socialist, [and] her voters in that district determined that she was the one they wanted representing [them.]”
Chevalier is one of three DSA candidates endorsed by Mamdani who won their primaries. Traditional Democrats, including strategist James Carville, fear a socialist turn by the party will doom them in November and beyond.
Asked about the subject, Shapiro told CNN:
“I think what our party has to go through — that will be very healthy and something we’ve not really done since the 1992 election cycle — is to have a battle over what we believe in. To have a battle over the ideas that we are going to hold on to and campaign on, and then deliver on as a way to make people’s lives better.
“I expect our party, over the course of this next year or so, to go through a title about what we believe in — and then come out unified in a way that we can take the fight to the other side and really deliver for the American people.”
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