Carville says he wouldn’t seat Mamdani-backed Avila Chevalier in caucus: ‘She’s not a Democrat’

Democratic strategist James Carville said that he wouldn’t place Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 13th Congressional District, in the House Democratic caucus if she wins in November.

“They should not seat her in the caucus. Her views are totally against anything that any Democrat has. We believe in pluralism,” Carville told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas on Wednesday.

Carville added later that Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who was backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) in her race, “is not a Democrat.”

The Hill has reached out to Avila Chevalier’s campaign for comment.

Avila Chevalier defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D) on Tuesday in the Democratic primary for his House seat. Her race was one of multiple tests of influence for Mamdani, who has seen his star rise in the national political scene in the last year after his notable defeat of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his own Democratic primary.

Three leftist candidates on Tuesday supported by Mamdani won congressional primaries. Two, including Avila Chevalier, took down incumbents. Former New York City comptroller Brad Lander defeated Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) in the 10th Congressional District. New York Assemblywoman Claire Valdez won the primary for a seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) in the 7th District.

In the last decade, democratic socialism has burst onto the political scene in the wake of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) two presidential runs. Following Sanders’s bids, figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Mamdani, both now prominent members of the movement, have emerged and conversations have been growing about democratic socialists’ place within the Democratic Party.