In a shocking upset, New York Rep. Joe Crowley, who is the fourth-highest ranking Democrat in the House and had been considered a possible future speaker, has lost his primary to challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A community activist, Ocasio-Cortez is a shoo-in to represent this heavily Democratic and Latino district that spans Queens and the Bronx.
As an avowed democratic socialist, Ocasio-Cortez ran a challenge from the left against Crowley, who has been in office for two decades and is chairman of the Queens Democratic party. Crowley had access to immense resources, and in the final months of the campaign, he outspent Ocasio-Cortez $1.1 million to just $127,000.
The 28-year-old Ocasio-Cortez is a first-time candidate who was working as a bartender just last year. But she ran an aggressive campaign centered on progressive policies that included expanding Medicare to all and a call to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, better known as ICE. With her army of enthusiastic supporters, she may have benefited from low turnout due to the fact that Tuesday’s primaries in New York were only for federal races. (The state holds a separate primary for state-level races in September.)
Crowley is the highest-ranking House member to lose a primary since Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor fell to to tea partier Dave Brat four years ago, and it’s a sign that Democrats, especially Democrats of color, are eager for a new era of leadership.