Salazar was born in Miami on December 30, 1990. Her mother is an American citizen by birth, and her father a naturalized American citizen from Colombia. Her parents divorced during her childhood. Salazar described being raised in "a conservative home" and at 18 registered as a Republican. In March 2010, she registered with the Independence Party of New York, believing it meant she was an independent voter. Salazar attended Columbia College, the undergraduate division of Columbia University but told The New York Times she did not earn a degree. While there, Salazar was pro-life and a member of pro-Israel Christian student groups, but later became involved in campus Jewish life and tenant organizing. After college, she became a grassroots organizer and campaigned extensively for legislation around police accountability.
In April 2018, Salazar announced her candidacy for the 18th district of the New York State Senate against incumbent Senator Martin Malave Dilan in the Democratic primary. Her campaign gained significant attention after the primary victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th congressional district. She was endorsed by Our Revolution, the Democratic Socialists of America, Cynthia Nixon, and Ocasio-Cortez herself. Citizens Union initially endorsed her but later revoked their endorsement, citing discrepancies in information she provided about her academic credentials. During her campaign, Salazar was criticized by Armin Rosen of Tablet, who raised questions about statements regarding her Jewish identity. Salazar describes herself as Jewish, has said that she has some Sephardic ancestry through her father, including a Sephardic surname, and that she started to explore Judaism while attending college. According to Rosen, her brother claimed their father "never mentioned" any Sephardic heritage before his death. Following the publication of Rosen's piece, Salazar's mother stated that her husband's family had a Sephardic background, while Salazar's former classmates attested to her Jewish faith in college. Salazar accused Rosen of engaging in "race science" and claimed he had threatened to publish her mother’s personal information if she didn't cooperate. He also raised questions about Salazar's immigration background, discussed in an article a week later in City & State. On September 13, 2018 Salazar defeated Dilan for the Democratic Party nomination. She was elected unopposed at the November 6general election. On September 11, 2018, Salazar accused David Keyes, then a spokesperson for Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, of sexual assault, stating she was preempting being outed in a story about to be published by The Daily Caller. Keyes denied assaulting her in a statement to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Eleven additional women subsequently alleged similar instances of harassment or assault by him. Although Israel's Civil Service Commission did not find sexual harassment by Keyes occurred, he resigned from his position in December 2018.
