Legal Insurrection has blogged a few times these past two years that Democrats have quietly discussed plans to find someone to primary Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Republicans have also jumped on the idea. At least seven have filed to run against Ocasio-Cortez in the Democrat-heavy 14th Congressional district.
Politico reported:
“She’s fired everyone up,” said Rey Solano, one of the slew of conservative challengers in the14th Congressional district. “She’s really annoyed a lot of people.”Most of the Republicans are running for office for the first time, and they’re honing similar attacks on Ocasio-Cortez: She’s a socialist; she opposed the since-scuttled plans to build an Amazon headquarters in Queens; she supports the Green New Deal that Republicans warn will bankrupt the Treasury.“The standard-bearer of socialism in America is in CD 14,” said Ruth Papazian, a medical writer from the Bronx who is looking for the Republican nod. “If you’re going to stop the spread of socialism, and especially the encroachment of socialism throughout the outer boroughs, you have to stop [Ocasio-Cortez].”Papazian is the only Republican to have reported contributions from donors to the FEC through the end of June, with about $10,600 raised. Ocasio-Cortez, by contrast, has raised more than $1.9 million in the first half of the year.
Ocasio-Cortez represents a Democrat-dominated district in New York. Democrats outnumber Republicans six to one. The Republican candidates acknowledged they do not stand much of a chance to beat her. They also know that the race would bring them plenty of attention, plus investments from the Republican Party.
Scherie Murray, a Jamaican immigrant, has received a lot of media attention since she joined the Republican primary last month. Her campaign found that “62 percent of voters would support a generic Democrat and 28 percent would back a Republican.”
The poll also showed that the respondents “would vote to re-elect Ocasio-Cortez or vote for someone else, 37 percent picked the incumbent, and 48 percent favored someone else.” Those in the district have not forgotten Ocasio-Cortez’s push to keep Amazon out of her area. They want “a candidate who backed the Amazon deal.”
Murray has said that New York “should be encouraging businesses to come into the state, versus pushing them out.”
In February, Amazon decided not to build its second headquarter in New York City after “a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.”
Ocasio-Cortez celebrated the decision, but she faced the wrath of Republicans and Democrats from New York. Those upset with her included Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
John Cummings, a former NYPD officer, and current high school government teacher, jumped into the race:
“She’s done a great job making a national profile for herself,” said John Cummings, a high school government teacher from the Bronx. “But we haven’t seen a lot of her around the district.”Still, Cummings, a former NYPD officer, says Ocasio-Cortez’s upset win last year against longtime congressman and Queens Democratic boss Joe Crowley was one of his inspirations to run.His students always asked him about running for office, he said.“My answer was always, ‘I think it’s impossible to come from basically nowhere and take on someone like Joe Crowley,’” Cummings said. “It was softly pointed out to me my excuse was now, quote unquote, a lame one.”
Like I said Democrats own the district so I don’t know if the GOP would pour a lot of money and time into the races. A Republican hasn’t represented the district since 1990-1993. Residents have voted for Democrats in presidential elections by at least 30% since 2000.
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