Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is hoping to replace another top New York Democrat in Congress with a more leftist candidate, just as she did in 2018.
Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Jamaal Bowman in his primary race against Rep. Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Wednesday, arguing that Bowman’s left-wing principles are needed to revitalize House Democrats.
“This moment requires renewed and revitalized leadership across the country AND at the ballot box. On June 23rd, New York will be holding primary elections. Tomorrow I will be rolling out a slate of New York endorsements,” she tweeted. “Tonight, I am endorsing @JamaalBowmanNY for Congress.”
Jamaal has dedicated the last decade of his life serving his community as a school principal and community servant.
I could tell you all about him, but he tells his story better than anyone else. https://t.co/36HhnlMWAl
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 4, 2020
Bowman, one of two candidates to primary Engel from the Left, is a public school teacher and education activist who argued that Engel has been “absent” from his district in the Bronx. Andom Ghebreghiorgis, Engel’s other challenger, dropped out of the race last week and endorsed Bowman, unifying liberal voters and mounting a more significant challenge to the congressman.
Engel, who has been in Congress for 16 terms, has been criticized for being away from his district throughout the coronavirus pandemic. His area of New York City was one of the hardest-hit regions in the country, but he refused to return to the district during the health crisis, instead opting to stay in Washington, D.C., and Potomac, Maryland, despite the House being in recess. When confronted about the situation, Engel maintained that he had been quarantined in “both places.”
The congressman recently returned to the district after riots in New York City following the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died after being arrested by an officer who kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. He again faced criticism after a hot mic caught him asking to speak to protesters on Tuesday.
“If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care,” Engel said after being told he couldn’t speak to the group.
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighboring district, defeated the longtime incumbent in her district, Joe Crowley, in 2018. Crowley had been in Congress for 20 years and was the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. In his campaign advertisements, Bowman endorsed many of the same policies promoted by Ocasio-Cortez, including “Medicare for all” and the Green New Deal.
