Julia Salazar, a Democratic socialist who has faced revelations that she misled voters about her upbringing and backstory, defeated 16-year incumbent state Sen. Martin Dilan in the Democratic New York State Senate primary Thursday in Brooklyn's 18th District.
Salazar’s mother and brother have pointed out that she was not a Colombian immigrant raised by a single mom who didn’t have a college degree as she initially claimed. She was actually born in Miami to a middle class family. Her brother also disputed her claims that she was of Jewish origin.
The Tablet found that Salazar went from being a conservative, pro-life and pro-Israel Christian to a progressive Jewish Democrat during her time at Columbia. She also did not graduate from Columbia as she had claimed on a survey, causing Citizen's Union to pull their endorsement of her.
The Tablet also revealed that Salazar was arrested in 2011 for allegedly impersonating Kai Hernandez, the wife of baseball player Keith Hernandez, so she could access her bank account.
Salazar said Kai Hernandez was attempting to frame her because she mistakenly thought Salazar was having an affair with her husband. They reached a $20,000 settlement in Salazar's favor.
Salazar’s lawyer Adam Hecht commented about the suit, “Kai Hernandez’s bizarre and fraudulent attempts to defame and victimize Julia were recognized as baseless by the authorities, who declined to file charges, and this matter was resolved with a monetary settlement in Julia’s favor. We have no further comment on this.”
It has also come out recently that she accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman, David Keyes, of sexually assaulting her. Eleven more women have since accused Keyes of inappropriate behavior.
The 27-year-old has been compared to Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez after her stunning victory over fourth-ranking House Democrat Joe Crowley in June.