House Democratic leaders are brushing off concerns about New York City congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier’s history of social media posts praising communism, telling reporters this week that she has moved on from those views, according to Jewish Insider.
The story broke earlier in the week when CNN reported that Avila Chevalier had repeatedly shared posts sympathetic to communism, Marxism, and Soviet figures including Vladimir Lenin on a Twitter account that has since been deleted. In an MS NOW interview on Monday, Avila Chevalier denied being a communist and called the scrutiny a “distraction,” Jewish Insider reported.
Asked whether communists have a place in the House Democratic Caucus, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told reporters, “I don’t think there’s a single member of the House Democratic Caucus right now that identifies as communist.” Jeffries said Avila Chevalier is “going to have to speak for herself in terms of what she said in the past” but added that she has been “pretty clear that she’s walked away from many of the things that have been unearthed, and has pretty clearly indicated that she’s a different person.”
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the No. 3 House Democrat, offered a similar line to Jewish Insider. Aguilar said he is personally a capitalist and pointed to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who endorsed Avila Chevalier, as having indicated that some of his endorsed candidates had changed their views. Aguilar said he would give all incoming members a “clean slate” when they enter the House.
Aguilar pushed back on framing the situation as a sign of factional conflict, telling reporters at a Tuesday press conference, “This is a big-tent Democratic Party. Going into the fall [general elections], there is room for you, no matter where you are.” He said every member of the caucus is focused on holding the Trump administration accountable and denied that there are clashes between progressive and moderate wings. “There may be different places within the broad tent that candidates and members come from, but all of us are aligned on that agenda,” Aguilar said, adding that the Republican Party, by contrast, has “no room for disagreeing” with President Donald Trump.
Aguilar acknowledged there may be “friction” within the Democratic coalition at times but insisted the party could hash out differences while remaining united.
Featured image: Courtesy jewishinsider.com
