Ocasio-Cortez Wins Democratic Primary Against Challenger Caruso-Cabrera

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks to the press near a polling station during the New York primaries Election Day in New York City on June 23, 2020. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), on Tuesday night won her Democratic primary in New York’s 14th District, defeating challenger Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former anchor for CNBC.

Progressive freshman lawmaker Ocasio-Cortez, who became the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress in the United States in 2018, brought a huge campaign war chest and a national profile to her bid for a second term in her diverse district encompassing parts of the Bronx and Queens in New York City. She won some 70 percent of the vote.

Democratic challenger Caruso-Cabrera, a former CNBC television anchor, had the backing of the conservative U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which usually supports Republicans.

“When I won in 2018, many dismissed our victory as a ‘fluke.’ Our win was treated as an aberration, or because my opponent ‘didn’t try.’ So from the start, tonight’s race was important to me,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter Tuesday night. “Tonight we are proving that the people’s movement in NY isn’t an accident. It’s a mandate.”

“No amount of money can buy a movement,” she said in a video shared on the social media platform, adding that her victory came despite Wall Street opposition. Wall Street executives raised more than $2 million to support the 51-year-old former television anchor Caruso-Cabrera.

Ocasio-Cortez, 30, raised more than $10.5 million, exceeding the totals collected by her other challengers by far. She rose to political stardom in 2018 after ousting Rep. Joe Crowley in a stunning primary. Crowley overwhelmingly outspent her and appeared to be in line to become House speaker.

Ocasio-Cortez’s victory came after a Republican candidate challenging the 30-year-old announced on May 25 that she had dropped out of the congressional GOP primary race.

Scherie Murray, a businesswoman and Jamaican immigrant, on May 25 announced the news citing executive orders issued by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in response to the CCP virus pandemic as hindering the electoral process.

“Governor Cuomo’s undemocratic Executive Orders overthrew New York’s electoral process,” Murray’s campaign said. “The right to access the ballot, freedom of association as a member of a political party, the exchange of ideas and free speech are so sacred that the Founding Fathers made it the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.”

“Notwithstanding, during the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Cuomo’s Executive Orders have gone unchecked, affirming the ability to silence Murray’s First Amendment rights,” the statement continued.

“As long as avowed socialists are legislators, you can rest assured I will use my platform to advocate for the kitchen table issues of the toughest, hardest working New Yorkers,” Murray said. “This is not the end for Scherie Murray because I will continue to work hard.”

Meanwhile, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden won the Democratic presidential primary in New York.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.