Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Puerto-Rican American leftwinger and Bernie Sanders descendant, has beaten Joe Crowley in New York
10-term Democrat Joe Crowley was thought to be his party’s next leader in Congress, but he has lost the New York congressional primary to a 28-year-old female socialist with Latina heritage, in a result that is sending shockwaves around America - and the world.
With almost all of the votes counted, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had 57.5% and Crowley had 42.5%, in a district that included areas of Queens and the Bronx.
Ocasio-Cortez, a Puerto-Rican American and former Bernie Sanders volunteer, defeated Crowley in his re-election bid on Tuesday night, after criticising him for his close links to Wall Street and for allegedly being out of touch with his incredibly diverse electorate.
Crowley is the head of the Queens county Democratic party and the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, and was tipped to be Nancy Pelosi’s successor as House speaker if she stepped down.
Ocasio-Cortez was a grassroots campaigner who appealed to her core demographic, and she even made a surprise visit to the Mexican border before the election to emphasise her critical stance on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
In a statement, Crowley congratulated Ocasio-Cortez and gave her his backing, adding: ‘The Trump administration is a threat to everything we stand for here in Queens and the Bronx, and if we don’t win back the House this November, we will lose the nation we love.’
The president himself, Donald Trump, took time to tweet his reaction too. He seemed to view Crowley’s defeat to a left-wing candidate as a product of his treatment and words about the Trump presidency.
‘Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election,’ he tweeted, ‘In other words, he’s out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening. Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President!’