Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) easily defeated a centrist Democrat running for her House seat in New York’s 14th Congressional District, all but guaranteeing her reelection in November.
Ocasio-Cortez, an icon of the Left now in her sixth year in Congress, received 82.5% of the vote with 20% of the ballots counted when the primary was called at 9:05 p.m. Eastern, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, Martin Dolan received 17.1% of the vote.
Dolan, a 66-year-old investment banker, mounted a long-shot bid against the congresswoman, also known as AOC, in the district that includes part of the Bronx and Queens. He repeatedly blasted her opposition to Amazon’s 2018 plans to build a headquarters in New York City, a deal that fell apart after criticism over the $3 billion in tax credits from the city and state planned across 10 years.
A conservative business advocacy group recently got involved in the primary, spending $100,000 on billboards criticizing the congresswoman and propping up Dolan ahead of the primary.
Even before the results came in, Ocasio-Cortez framed her expected win as a victory for the people of her district.
“The cynics will tell you that one vote won’t change anything,” she posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But what they don’t tell you is that nothing can change without a vote.”
Democrats outnumber Republicans by 8 to 1 in this district, so Ocasio-Cortez is almost assured a victory in November’s general election. She will face Republican Tine Forte, who ran uncontested.
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Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at age 29 after winning an upset primary victory over former longtime Rep. Joey Crowley in 2018. She has handily won reelection in contests since, gaining 74.6% of the vote against Michelle Caruso-Cabrera in 2020, the last time she faced a primary challenge.
