David Duke, former leader of the organization, supported past comments by Darializa Avila Chevalier and again praised figures from the socialist wing of the Democratic Party
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The Democratic candidate for Congress in New York's 13th district, Darializa Avila Chevalier, has found herself at the center of a new political controversy after former Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke, publicly expressed his support for an old post by the candidate and praised several of her positions, in an episode that has reignited criticism of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.
The controversy began following an interview Duke gave to the conservative outlet ''Washington Free Beacon'', in which he claimed to agree with Chevalier regarding the preservation of ethnic identity and questioned interracial relationships, referencing a post made by the candidate on social media in 2019.
In that message, later deleted, Chevalier criticized ''black men'' and ''Arab men'' for, as she wrote at the time, ''fetishizing ugly colonizing women''. Although the post was removed years later, it resurfaced during the campaign for the Democratic primaries, raising questions about the racial content of her statements.
A radical candidate from the Democratic Party faced harsh criticism after receiving the support of a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan
Duke, who led the Ku Klux Klan from 1974 to 1980 and later served in the Louisiana House of Representatives, asserted that Chevalier had the right to defend the preservation of her cultural heritage.
''I believe people have the right to preserve their own heritage. If she is concerned about preserving hers, she certainly has the right to do so,'' the former supremacist leader stated during the interview.
Chevalier, who identifies as Afro-Latina, recently secured the Democratic nomination to represent New York's 13th district, a constituency with a solid Democratic majority, making her a favorite to win the general elections in November and join the House of Representatives.
Her candidacy is part of a new generation of socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose group achieved significant victories during the Democratic primary elections held in June.
However, Duke's statements have once again put several progressive party leaders under scrutiny, especially since the former KKK leader has also expressed sympathy in recent years for other Democratic lawmakers critical of Israel.
David Duke has given strong support to multiple socialist wing Democratic candidates in recent years
Even before Duke's public endorsement, some more traditional Democratic leaders had already expressed concern about the political impact of Chevalier. According to journalist Mark Halperin, a member of the Democratic Party, whose identity was not revealed, compared her to David Duke by stating that her candidacy was ''poisoning the possibility of a Democratic majority''.
Adding to those criticisms was former Republican congressman Peter Meijer, who argued that there is a fundamental difference between the Republican Party's reaction to David Duke in the 1990s and the current attitude of the Democratic Party towards Chevalier.
Meijer recalled that when Duke ran as a Republican for governor of Louisiana in 1991, the national leadership of the Republican Party rejected supporting him and ended up backing Democratic candidate Edwin Edwards to prevent the former Ku Klux Klan leader from gaining power.
In contrast, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, publicly congratulated Chevalier after her victory in the primaries, without referencing the controversy generated by her past posts.
The communist Hakeem Jeffries congratulated Chevalier after her victory in the primaries despite the controversial social media posts of the Democrat
During the interview, Duke also praised communist mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom he called ''a step forward'', although he noted that he disagrees with him on immigration issues. Nevertheless, he stated that he shares his criticisms of Israel, a topic that has motivated previous expressions of support from the former supremacist leader for various Democratic representatives.
In 2019, Duke had already publicly praised Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar after she faced accusations of antisemitism for comments related to Israel's influence in U.S. politics. Over the years, Duke has made multiple antisemitic statements and spread conspiracy theories about the Jewish community, widely condemned by civil organizations and U.S. authorities.
So far, the campaign of Darializa Avila Chevalier has not responded to requests for comments from various media regarding David Duke's statements or the controversy generated by her past posts.
The former leader of the supremacist group had also thrown significant support behind the jihadist mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani
