General Election
U.S. House · New York - 13
Open seat after incumbent's primary loss; nominees split on immigration, Israel
Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated incumbent Adriano Espaillat in the June 23 Democratic primary and also holds the Working Families line. She faces Republican Jomo M. Williams, who advanced after the Republican primary was canceled, in a district rated D+32 on the Cook Partisan Voter Index.
Issues
7 issues · 2 candidates · every claim sourced
Immigration enforcement and legal status
Central to the raceCongress writes immigration law and sets the budgets of enforcement agencies such as ICE, so House votes shape detention, deportation and paths to legal status. The choice runs from cutting back or ending enforcement and deportation to reducing new immigration and local sanctuary protections.
Darializa Avila Chevalier
Wants to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and dismantle the deportation system, expand pathways to citizenship, and guarantee free legal representation for immigrants.
Darializa for Congress — Priorities ↗Jomo M. Williams
Wants to close and secure the border and pause immigration to protect local wages, housing availability and public resources, and backs immigration-control bills in Congress. Opposes New York City's status as a sanctuary jurisdiction.
JMW 4 Congress — candidate comparison ↗Israel, Gaza and U.S. military support
Central to the raceCongress approves military aid and can restrict U.S. weapons sales to other countries, so a House member's votes bear on U.S. support for Israel during the war in Gaza. The dispute is whether to continue, condition or end that support, and what diplomatic outcome the U.S. should back.
Darializa Avila Chevalier
Wants to end U.S. support for Israel, which she describes as an apartheid state committing genocide in Gaza, and supports legislation to limit the sale, transfer and export of U.S. weapons and defense services to Israel.
✓ Track record — what they've actually done
Arrested on April 13, 2026, at a Jewish Voice for Peace protest urging Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer to vote against weapons sales to Israel, and arrested again in September 2026 with more than 100 demonstrators at a protest ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
Protester; arrested at both demonstrations · April 13, 2026, and September 2026 · Arrested at both protests
Jomo M. Williams
Supports a two-state solution, with a secure, sovereign state for both Israelis and Palestinians, and opposes violence against civilian populations.
JMW 4 Congress — candidate comparison ↗Housing costs and public housing
Central to the raceCongress sets federal spending on rent vouchers and public housing, and the House votes on those budgets. The dispute is whether to expand federal spending on public and social housing and tenant protections, or to cut the rules that raise building costs and favor local private ownership.
Darializa Avila Chevalier
Treats housing as a human right: wants to fully fund Section 8 vouchers and the New York City Housing Authority, protect all tenants, prevent deed theft and build affordable housing.
Darializa for Congress — Priorities ↗Jomo M. Williams
Wants to cut the red tape that drives up building costs and put local property ownership ahead of corporate monopolies, so residents and small businesses can own homes and commercial space. Treats stable baseline housing as infrastructure workers need.
JMW 4 Congress — Universal Capitalism platform ↗Jobs, wages and family income
Also in playCongress sets the federal minimum wage, labor law, Social Security funding and federal family tax credits, and could create a federal jobs program. The dispute is how far federal money and rules should go in guaranteeing work and income, and whether to pay for it by cutting other spending.
Jomo M. Williams
Proposes a guaranteed job for every able-bodied citizen, working on infrastructure, public safety and civic upkeep, in place of unconditional welfare. The program would be an employer of last resort, funded federally but directed by municipal governments and neighborhood boards.
JMW 4 Congress — Universal Capitalism platform ↗Darializa Avila Chevalier
Wants to move taxpayer money from foreign wars into child tax credits and baby bonds. Backs a $15 minimum wage, higher union membership and stronger worker protections, funding for Social Security, and action against monopolies and price gouging.
Darializa for Congress — Priorities ↗Health coverage and costs
Also in playCongress decides the scope of federal health programs such as Medicare. The dispute is whether to create a single free, universal public plan that covers everyone or keep today's mix of public and private coverage.
Darializa Avila Chevalier
Supports Medicare for All: a free, universal public system covering primary and mental health care, dental, vision, hearing, reproductive and long-term care, with lower prescription drug costs.
Darializa for Congress — Priorities ↗Jomo M. Williams
Treats basic health care, along with housing, childcare and vocational education, as critical infrastructure people need to compete economically.
JMW 4 Congress — Universal Capitalism platform ↗Policing, prisons and criminal justice
Also in playThe candidates take different approaches to police funding and incarceration.
Jomo M. Williams
Opposes defunding the police, wants public safety fully funded, and calls for a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system.
JMW 4 Congress — candidate comparison ↗Darializa Avila Chevalier
Supports prison abolition.
Wikipedia — Darializa Avila Chevalier ↗Election rules and campaign money
Also in playCongress writes federal campaign finance and election law, including the rules on super PAC spending, stock trading by members of Congress and the identification voters must show in federal elections.
Jomo M. Williams
Supports voter ID requirements. His campaign website says he has a pending lawsuit against the Board of Elections in New York County Supreme Court over what it calls election-system loopholes.
JMW 4 Congress — candidate comparison ↗Darializa Avila Chevalier
Wants to ban large super PACs from elections and bar members of Congress from trading stocks.
Wikipedia — Darializa Avila Chevalier ↗