Democratic strategist calls socialist candidates 'parasites' who could 'set the party back decades'

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Democratic strategist Melissa DeRosa accused Democratic socialist candidates and politicians like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of being "parasites" who leech off and could kill the political party.

DeRosa made the comment on "Special Report with Bret Baier" Monday night as Mamdani continued to campaign for openly socialist candidates in the New York primary elections, such as political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier.

"They are not Democrats; they are socialists, and they are parasites," the former Andrew Cuomo chief of staff said. "They cannot win on their own by creating their own party, so they are going to latch onto the Democratic Party and feed off of it, with the overall goal of taking it over and killing it."

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Candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, including state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, have been criticized for far-left beliefs. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images ; Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

She continued, "So that’s what the [Democratic Socialists of America] is doing. They started this in 2016 with Bernie and Hillary. [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] then gets elected in 2018. You see the introduction of the 'Squad' and what’s been happening since then. This year, they do feel like it’s their big opportunity. They are going for broke. You don’t see them trying to win purple or red seats. You see them trying to pick off Democrats in safe blue seats."

DeRosa pointed to Chevalier's campaign as an example. She remarked that Chevalier is challenging New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair who has a "100% voting record with the Democratic Party."

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Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier has been endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani ahead of New York's primary elections. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"But he is not a socialist. He is not an anti-semite. He believes in public safety. He believes in opportunity and innovation and capitalism, and for that, they are trying to off him. Yes, it’s a terrible thing for the Democratic Party and if they are successful in taking over, then I think it’s going to set the party back decades," DeRosa said.

Mamdani has also endorsed Assemblymember Claire Valdez and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander ahead of the primary elections on Tuesday. Both candidates have pushed far-left policies such as the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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Chevalier has faced significant backlash over her views on abolishing prisons and open borders. In recent interviews, she indicated that she opposed all deportations, including ones for illegal immigrants guilty of breaking criminal law.