DEM WAR! Report Says ‘Top Democrats’ Want AOC to Challenge Chuck Schumer

According to a report by news outlet Axios, “top Democrats” want Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to continue her war against the establishment of her party by challenging one of her home state of New York’s two Senators: Sen. Chuck Schumer or Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

According to Axios, Schumer would be the more likely target. The Senate Minority Leader more often sides with moderate Democrats than progressives. On the other hand, Gillibrand could be a more vulnerable candidate given her poor primary performance thus so far.

Another factor: Gillibrand won’t be up for re-election until 2024. Schumer will be in 2022, which could be more to AOC’s liking.

But there are other concerns. The Daily Wire notes:

There are drawbacks. Even if Ocasio-Cortez is planning to move on to bigger and better things, she’ll need a base of support she currently lacks. National popularity is one thing, but a Senate run will require the attention of every voter in New York State, and Ocasio-Cortez is only popular with voters in and around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Those might be key constituencies for a Senate run, but they by no means guarantee a victory for a first timer.

And as far as Ocasio-Cortez is concerned, they are also by no means hers to fall back on. She’s popular in her home district but not particularly effective, and has yet to open a constituent office from Bronx residents, preferring to focus her attention less on local needs and more on building a national progressive movement.

Ocasio-Cortez’s Communications Director Corbin Trent told Axios, “Having worked on her campaign, I don’t think we’re going to be moving to a different role any time soon.”

Still, anything can happen in four years–particularly if enough Democrats want it to.

The ongoing battle between Democrat moderates and the “socialist” left of the party represented by Ocasio-Cortez along with fellow congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, and also 2020 presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

A takedown of Schumer would show how far left Democrats have become more than anything else Ocasio-Cortez has accomplished to date. Stay tuned.

is a professional writer and editor with over 15 years of experience in conservative media and Republican politics. He... More about John Hanson

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