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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorsed Tuesday the progressive challenger to fellow incumbent New York Democrat Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), who is also the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Ocasio-Cortez is backing state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi in the Democratic primary for New York’s 17th Congressional District, which Maloney opted to run instead of his current district, the 18th, after redistricting changed the boundaries.
Maloney reportedly irked progressives by switching districts and pushing out Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), who had represented the district and is now running in New York’s 10th Congressional district, despite not living in the lower Manhattan district.
“Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to wade into the race is also likely to further divide a New York delegation already deeply fractured by district boundaries imposed by the state’s courts,” reported the New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher.
Ocasio-Cortez is expected to send out a email fundraiser for Biaggi saying, “Alessandra has been here before — she knows what it takes to go up against powerful opponents and
Endorsing Maloney’s opponent is another sign that Ocasio-Cortez is willing to take on the leadership of the Democratic Party and target more moderate members of her own party in favor of progressives. Maloney is currently serving his second term as the head of the DCCC, which is tasked with helping to maintain the Democrat’s House majority – which is looking less and less likely as November nears.
“His job is to maximize the number of seats that we have in the Democratic majority and if he was doing his job, he would have stayed in that district,” Biaggi told Times, taking a swipe at Maloney for abandoning his current district, which is more competitive after redistricting.
Biaggi added that she is “thrilled” to have Ocasio-Cortez’s support, adding, “Her endorsement is really an indication to everyone that this is an important fight for the party. She really is the standard-bearer.”