NEW YORK (AP) — Freshman U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her Democratic primary Tuesday, but election night ended with uncertainty over the outcomes of several other New York congressional races featuring other young insurgents.
The coronavirus pandemic that moved campaigning from the streets to computer screens also prompted officials to allow New Yorkers to vote by mail, and the process of opening and counting those absentee ballots won't begin until at least July 1.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (/ oʊ ˌ k ɑː s i oʊ k ɔːr ˈ t ɛ z /; Spanish: oˈkasjo koɾˈtes; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials, AOC, is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019. And Rendell believes Ocasio-Cortez may end up being responsible for Democrats losing in 2020. 'I think all of a sudden, the 2020 election went from a slam dunk for Democrats to something where we're going to have trouble beating this guy because he's going to make Democratic socialism swing to the left, which I don't think is real, but. 'Squad' Members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib Handily Win Reelection to Congress this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility.
Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist who upset powerful Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley in the 2018 primary, easily prevailed this year over opponents including former CNBC broadcaster Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wins against Joe Crowley in Democrat congressional primary - YouTube Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Puerto-Rican American socialist, causes a major upset in New York after. In 2007, Ocasio-Cortez won a prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in microbiology. The ISEF isn't your standard panorama-filled science fair: It's the largest pre-college.
In a video posted to Twitter, she said her victory came despite Wall Street opposition. 'No amount of money can buy a movement,' she said.
Meanwhile, in one congressional district north, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, waited to see if he would withstand a challenge from Jamaal Bowman, a former middle school principal endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
As of 1 a.m., the race in the Bronx and Westchester County remained too early to call. Bowman pulled to an early lead, with around 61% of the counted vote. Engel was in second with about 36%. Mail in votes, though, were expected to account for more than half the vote.
While not declaring victory, Bowman expressed confidence to a gathering of supporters late Tuesday.
'I am fired up. I cannot wait to get to Congress and cause problems for the people in there who have been maintaining a status quo that is literally killing our children,' he said.
Engel said in a statement, 'With so many absentee ballots outstanding and many still coming in, we know that the full results in the primary won't be known for some time.' He added that he is 'proud of his progressive record.'
In western New York, Republican state Sen. Chris Jacobs swept a doubleheader to win a House seat formerly held by fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, who resigned just before pleading guilty to insider trading last fall.
Jacobs won a special election to serve out the remainder of Collins' term. He also won a three-way primary to be the Republican candidate in November's general election. In the special election, Jacobs beat Democrat Nate McMurray, a former town supervisor. The two will face off again in November.
Several of the most closely-watched congressional contests remained too early to call.
In a Democratic primary in New York City, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke had a early, but substantial lead over Adem Bunkeddeko, a Harvard Business School graduate who also ran against her in 2018.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, another Democrat, was neck and neck with challenger Suraj Patel, who ran against her in the 2018 primary. Patel criticized Maloney for supporting a failed deal to use government tax breaks to help Amazon build a secondary headquarters in Queens. The district includes parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Crowded primaries were also undecided for House seats opening up due to the retirements of Democrats Jose Serrano in the Bronx and Nita Lowey in the suburbs north of New York City.
The top candidates for Serrano's seat included City Council member Ruben Diaz Sr., a social conservative who opposes abortion rights and LGBT rights. But one of his foes, City Council member Ritchie Torres, a gay man who is backed by several LGBT organizations, was ahead when vote tabulation stopped.
Leading candidates for Lowey's seat include Mondaire Jones, an attorney endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was a few thousand votes ahead of former prosecutor and pharmaceutical heir Adam Schleifer and state Sen. David Carlucci.
House incumbents who won Democratic primaries in New York City included Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Nydia Velazquez and Adriano Espaillat.
Several of the districts in New York City and its suburbs are so overwhelmingly Democratic that the winner of the party's primary is almost certain to win election in November, while districts in some other parts of the state are more competitive.
The retirement of Republican Rep. Peter King leaves his Long Island seat open as well, and Democrats believe they have a good chance of winning the seat in November. State Assembly members Andrew Garbarino and Mike LiPetri were running in the Republican primary, while school guidance counselor Jackie Gordon faced activist Patricia Maher in the Democratic primary.
© Alex Wong/Getty Images Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Alex Wong/Getty Images- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the overwhelming favorite in her reelection race in New York's 14th Congressional district.
- Her Republican opponent, John Cummings has still raised $9.6 million — seemingly a sign of how keen conservatives are to challenge her.
- 'I guarantee you 75% of his contributors don't know anything about him,' a Republican strategist told The New York Times.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is widely expected to win reelection next month as the US Representative for New York's 14th district.
Her Republican challenger, John Cummings, has still managed to raise $9.6 million, in a sign of how desperate her critics are to beat her, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
'I guarantee you 75% of his contributors don't know anything about him,' Tom Doherty, a Republican strategist, told the newspaper of Cummings, a former Bronx schoolteacher and police officer.
'The people that are interested in that race financially are giving because it's AOC,' he said.
Read more: Jared Kushner floating launch of a new Trump-branded media outlet, GOP sources say. It's another sign of a looming 2020 defeat.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has raised $17.3 million so far, champions progressive policies such as public healthcare, tuition-free public college, the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the rollout of a Green New Deal that would transform the US economy to combat climate change and protect the environment.
The lawmaker's bold proposals have polarized Americans, winning her passionate support among liberals and making her a popular target for conservatives.
The result is that more money has poured into backing her and her opponents than in any House of Representatives race in the country bar one, The New York Times said.
As of 1 a.m., the race in the Bronx and Westchester County remained too early to call. Bowman pulled to an early lead, with around 61% of the counted vote. Engel was in second with about 36%. Mail in votes, though, were expected to account for more than half the vote.
While not declaring victory, Bowman expressed confidence to a gathering of supporters late Tuesday.
'I am fired up. I cannot wait to get to Congress and cause problems for the people in there who have been maintaining a status quo that is literally killing our children,' he said.
Engel said in a statement, 'With so many absentee ballots outstanding and many still coming in, we know that the full results in the primary won't be known for some time.' He added that he is 'proud of his progressive record.'
In western New York, Republican state Sen. Chris Jacobs swept a doubleheader to win a House seat formerly held by fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, who resigned just before pleading guilty to insider trading last fall.
Jacobs won a special election to serve out the remainder of Collins' term. He also won a three-way primary to be the Republican candidate in November's general election. In the special election, Jacobs beat Democrat Nate McMurray, a former town supervisor. The two will face off again in November.
Several of the most closely-watched congressional contests remained too early to call.
In a Democratic primary in New York City, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke had a early, but substantial lead over Adem Bunkeddeko, a Harvard Business School graduate who also ran against her in 2018.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, another Democrat, was neck and neck with challenger Suraj Patel, who ran against her in the 2018 primary. Patel criticized Maloney for supporting a failed deal to use government tax breaks to help Amazon build a secondary headquarters in Queens. The district includes parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Crowded primaries were also undecided for House seats opening up due to the retirements of Democrats Jose Serrano in the Bronx and Nita Lowey in the suburbs north of New York City.
The top candidates for Serrano's seat included City Council member Ruben Diaz Sr., a social conservative who opposes abortion rights and LGBT rights. But one of his foes, City Council member Ritchie Torres, a gay man who is backed by several LGBT organizations, was ahead when vote tabulation stopped.
Leading candidates for Lowey's seat include Mondaire Jones, an attorney endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was a few thousand votes ahead of former prosecutor and pharmaceutical heir Adam Schleifer and state Sen. David Carlucci.
House incumbents who won Democratic primaries in New York City included Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Nydia Velazquez and Adriano Espaillat.
Several of the districts in New York City and its suburbs are so overwhelmingly Democratic that the winner of the party's primary is almost certain to win election in November, while districts in some other parts of the state are more competitive.
The retirement of Republican Rep. Peter King leaves his Long Island seat open as well, and Democrats believe they have a good chance of winning the seat in November. State Assembly members Andrew Garbarino and Mike LiPetri were running in the Republican primary, while school guidance counselor Jackie Gordon faced activist Patricia Maher in the Democratic primary.
© Alex Wong/Getty Images Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Alex Wong/Getty Images- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the overwhelming favorite in her reelection race in New York's 14th Congressional district.
- Her Republican opponent, John Cummings has still raised $9.6 million — seemingly a sign of how keen conservatives are to challenge her.
- 'I guarantee you 75% of his contributors don't know anything about him,' a Republican strategist told The New York Times.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is widely expected to win reelection next month as the US Representative for New York's 14th district.
Her Republican challenger, John Cummings, has still managed to raise $9.6 million, in a sign of how desperate her critics are to beat her, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
'I guarantee you 75% of his contributors don't know anything about him,' Tom Doherty, a Republican strategist, told the newspaper of Cummings, a former Bronx schoolteacher and police officer.
'The people that are interested in that race financially are giving because it's AOC,' he said.
Read more: Jared Kushner floating launch of a new Trump-branded media outlet, GOP sources say. It's another sign of a looming 2020 defeat.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has raised $17.3 million so far, champions progressive policies such as public healthcare, tuition-free public college, the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the rollout of a Green New Deal that would transform the US economy to combat climate change and protect the environment.
The lawmaker's bold proposals have polarized Americans, winning her passionate support among liberals and making her a popular target for conservatives.
The result is that more money has poured into backing her and her opponents than in any House of Representatives race in the country bar one, The New York Times said.
Did Ocasio Cortez Win Her Election
More then $30 million has flowed into the campaign, most of it going to Ocasio-Cortez and Cummings.
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former CNBC anchor who lost to Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary, has also raised $2.4 million and loaned $1 million to her campaign in order to run against Ocasio-Cortez again as the candidate for the Serve America Movement.
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Primary Results
Cummings' campaign staff knew they could capitalize on Ocasio-Cortez's public profile to raise money from across the country.
Ocasio Cortez Win Primary
'I just sensed that national fund-raising against someone like AOC would be successful,' Chapin Fay, Cummings' campaign manager, told The New York Times.
