Democratic socialist and Bernie Sanders promoter Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has endorsed an “all-female slate” of left-wing candidates, some of whom hope to take out more moderate, establishment and incumbent Democrats in key races.
“Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plans on Friday to endorse an all-female slate of progressive candidates through her new political action committee, using her clout in the insurgent left and the considerable campaign funds she has drawn to counter the Democratic establishment in key races around the country,” The New York Times reported on Friday.
In an announcement of her plans on social media Friday, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: “It’s time to elect a progressive majority in Congress accountable to strong, grassroots movements that push support for issues like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, racial justice, & more. It’s time to elect public servants with the Courage to Change.”
It’s time to elect a progressive majority in Congress accountable to strong, grassroots movements that push support for issues like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, racial justice, & more.
It’s time to elect public servants with the Courage to Change: https://t.co/K6JXmCH2Vh
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 21, 2020
The seven women the radical representative has now added to her growing list of endorsements include one Senate candidate and six congressional candidates: Senate candidate Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, who is taking on a Senate Democrat-endorsed candidate to face off against Republican Senator John Cornyn; New Mexico’s Teresa Fernandez, New York’s Samelys López and California’s Georgette Gómez, who are all vying for open seats in Democratic districts; and Nebraska’s Kara Eastman, who is taking on a Republican incumbent.
Ocasio-Cortez has previously announced her endorsement of two progressive primary challengers to Democratic incumbents: Marie Newman and Jessica Cisneros, two women who are taking on male Democrats in Illinois and Texas.
The freshman congresswoman’s endorsement, says the Times, is a “powerful stamp of approval” for her fellow progressive candidates. It’s also more evidence that the Green New Deal advocate is attempting to “reshape the Democratic Party,” the paper notes — something she has made clear from day one is one of her larger priorities and which has repeatedly resulted in friction between the freshman representative and the party’s leadership. One of her first moves when she arrived on Capitol Hill was to join a group of radical protesters for a sit-in at the office of the leader of the House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Since, she has publicly traded barbs with the party’s leadership on multiple occasions.
The Times highlights the larger issue at play in Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign against fellow Democrats: “the struggle among Democrats that is defining the race for the presidency, which is pitting Senator Bernie Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist, against more moderate candidates who are presenting themselves as better able to appeal to a broad section of voters in taking on President Trump.”
Her anti-establishment move follows a dust-up between the House Democratic campaign arm and progressives last year when the campaign arm “barr[e]d campaign vendors from conducting business with a primary opponent of a sitting Democrat, a move intended to shield incumbents,” the Times notes.
Related: Ocasio-Cortez Unloads On Bloomberg: Engaged In ‘Cover Up,’ Had ‘Most Racist Policies’