Controversial Democratic Socialist Julia Salazar wins the New York state primary

Controversial Democratic Socialist Julia Salazar won the New York state primary on Thursday.

Salazar, who has been scrutinized for her dodgy past where she faked her Jewish immigrant biography and lied about her rough upbringing, beat 16-year incumbent Senator Martin Dilan on Thursday. 

The 27-year-old won a spot on the ballot for New York’s 18th Senate District seat. 

She beat Dilan by 57 per cent to 43 per cent, with 84 per cent of the precincts reporting, according to Fox.   

She will not face a Republican opponent in November.

Her grassroots campaign attacked her opponent for failing to help the poor or halt the gentrification of Brooklyn.

Salazar followed the footsteps of Democratic Socialists of American member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who beat 10-term incumbent Representative Joe Crowley in the Democratic US congressional primary.

She was seen as a young, educated, and politically active Latina who gathered the support of millennial as she hoped to represent the Brooklyn district. 

She claimed to be Jewish, a Columbia University graduate, and that she grew up poor to immigrant parents. 

However her reputation was discredited in August when her brother said she was raised Catholic, it was discovered she never graduated from the Ivy League school, and she grew up sprawling waterfront home with a maid and attended private school in Florida. 

She was also previously accused of attempted bank fraud by the ex-wife of baseball star Keith Hernandez.