Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday endorsed Jamaal Bowman over longtime Rep. Eliot L. Engel ahead of a Democratic primary on June 23 in New York.
“This moment requires renewed and revitalized leadership across the country AND at the ballot box,” said Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat.
The freshman firebrand had held back a bit on endorsing insurgent challengers this cycle, but it’s a major coup for Mr. Bowman, whose campaign called Ms. Ocasio-Cortez “the most coveted endorsement in NYC politics.”
Mr. Engel, a longtime incumbent and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was caught on a hot mic this week saying, “If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care” as he lobbied to speak at an event amid the unrest after the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.
He later said he cares deeply about what’s happening in the country and thought it was important for people to know where he stood.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez launched her own political career by toppling former House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joseph Crowley in a June 2018 primary.
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