Ocasio-Cortez Blasted by House Democrat Campaign Chief Following New York Losses

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at a campaign event for New York State Governor Kathy Hochul in the Queens borough of New York City on Nov. 8, 2022. Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images

Sean Patrick Maloney, Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has lashed out at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) who had criticized the party leadership for its poor performance in the New York elections.

“The last time I ran into A.O.C., we were beating her endorsed candidate two to one in a primary, and I didn’t see her one minute of these midterms helping our House majority. So, I’m not sure what kind of advice she has, but I’m sure she’ll be generous with it,” Maloney said in an interview with The New York Times.

Ocasio-Cortez “had almost nothing to do with what turned out to be a historic defense of our majority. Didn’t pay a dollar of dues. Didn’t do anything for our frontline candidates except give them money when they didn’t want it from her,” he added.

Maloney went on to say that there are other voices in the party that should be heard, especially since most suburban voters have “clearly rejected” the ideas that Ocasio-Cortez is most associated with, like defunding the police.

Though he admitted that she is an “important voice” in their politics, she was “nowhere to be found” on the political battlefield, he said.

In an earlier interview with The New York Times, Ocasio-Cortez had criticized her party’s leadership, calling it “old-school, calcified machine-style politics that creates a very anemic voting base that is disengaged and disenfranchised.”

She also blamed the Democrat’s “overreliance and insistence” on leaning into “Republican narratives on crime and safety” as another factor that hurt her party in the elections.

GOP Gains

Ocasio-Cortez and Maloney’s comments come after the Republicans succeeded in triggering a mini-red wave in a state that is usually reliably blue.

The GOP won 10 seats in the House against 15 seats won by the Democrats, with Republicans flipping four seats, which included the defeat of Maloney.

In an interview with the New York Post, Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said that her constituents believe that Democrats have lost touch with the public over pandemic mandates and safety.

There has been a “major shift” in Southern Brooklyn, Vernikov said while pointing to a Republican win in the district last year that was a Democrat seat for over a century. That win has created momentum that now has “no end in sight,” Vernikov stated.

“This awakening in the heart of New York City has initiated a domino effect that will surely spill over into neighboring districts, and will set the tone for what’s to come for the rest of our city and state,” she said.