On Tuesday (August 23), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) skated to victory in her bid for renomination to Congress in New York’s 14th District.
Ocasio-Cortez didn’t have any challengers in her Democrat primary, something her fellow progressive Democrats didn’t have the benefit of experiencing.
Despite the Democratic Congresswoman being uncontested in her third bid, Ocasio-Cortez is a strong proponent of primary elections, criticizing a system that causes many races to remain uncontested.
AOC easily won her primary in New York’s 14th district, which wasn’t the same for fellow squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN.), who only managed to narrowly win renomination in Minnesota 5th district earlier in the month.
Rep. Cori Bush (R-MO.) had a somewhat better fate than Omar when she won her primary against challenger state Sen. Steve Roberts in Missouri’s heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District.
Another New York progressive and first openly gay Black member of Congress, Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), lost his challenge to Daniel Goldman, the heir of Levi Strauss, in a crowded primary for New York’s 10th Congressional District.
Jones’, who was endorsed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and currently serves on New York’s 17th district, had a steeper path to victory following a much-criticized redistricting process.
Jones chose to seek reelection in the 10th district; rather than have a member vs. member primary against Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY) (10th district) or Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) in a nearby district.
