Democrats are still reeling from their most shocking loss of the mid-term election cycle. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old member of a socialist political party, won a shocking upset when she decisively beat 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in New York’s Democratic Congressional primary elections Tuesday.
As recently as November, Ocasio-Cortez was working in a bar and was a virtual unknown.
Crowley, himself one of the most liberal members of Congress, is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House, and was considered a possible replacement for Nancy Pelosi as speaker if the Democrats retake the House. Crowley represented New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens.
President Donald Trump responded to the news Wednesday, calling it a “big loss.”
“That was a big loss,” he said. “For Crowley to lose that election was a shocker. I think he probably took it for granted. I can’t say I’m disappointed because I never was a big fan.”
Ocasio-Cortez ran on a far left-wing platform that even many Democrats consider radical. Those positions include support for universal health care and a federal guarantee of a job for each and every American and illegal immigrant. She also wants to abolish ICE – Immigration and Customs Enforcement – the Homeland Security division that enforces US immigration laws at airports both in the U.S and in foreign cities, ports and at American borders. She worked for the failed Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, and she’s a member of the radical Democratic Socialists of America.
The Democrats’ newest socialist candidate also wants to impeach President Trump, telling The Hill, “I would support impeachment. I think that, you know, we have the grounds to do it.”
Political analysts say her victory pushes the Democrat party to dangerous territory beyond even what would be considered the “far” left. Democrat Socialists believe, among other things, that the United States must give up control of its military and instead join a true multinational army that will be used to enforce treaties and punish countries that disagree with a “one world governance.”
Crowley overwhelmingly outspent Ocasio-Cortez, by a margin of 18 to one, but it wasn’t enough. She had a strong grassroots bid, and won the endorsement of some groups on the Democratic Party’s extreme left, like MoveOn.
Ocasio-Cortez’s victory could be a sign of a generational divide among Democrats as younger voters push the party to the Left. But that could hurt the Democrats in general elections, as millions of Americans, including those that support the president, remain skeptical of many Washington programs, and government intervention in the economy.
On the Republican side, President Trump continued his winning streak, as candidates he endorsed once again won their races. Almost every candidate endorsed by the president has won their primary brining out to the polls the same people who launched his political career in 2016.
Trump’s approval rating among Republicans now stands at 91% – higher than most of his GOP predecessors. A fact that baffles not only the media, but also some entrenched old-guard Republicans in Congress who have never been fans of the outsider entering their sphere of control and influence.
In Utah, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney coasted to victory in the Republican primary to become the GOP nominee in the race to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch. Romney beat lawmaker Mike Kennedy with nearly 72 percent of the vote.
And in the South Carolina Republican primary, incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster held off a challenge from businessman John Warren.
Trump endorsed both McMaster and Romney.
–Metro Voice and Wire Services
