Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old democratic socialist who upset veteran incumbent Joe Crowley in a New York congressional primary Tuesday, suggested Wednesday that her victory has farther-reaching implications than House minority leader Nancy Pelosi cares to admit.
During an appearance on CNNโs Erin Burnett OutFront, Ocasio-Cortez was presented a clip of Pelosi cautioning reporters against drawing too many conclusions about the future of the Democratic party from Crowleyโs loss.
โThey made a choice in one districtโ Pelosi said in the clip, recorded at a Tuesday press conference. โSo, letโs not get yourself carried away as an expert on demographics and the rest of that. We have an array of genders, generations, geography and the rest โ opinion โ in our caucus, and weโre very proud of that.โ
Ocasio-Cortez โ a former Bernie Sanders organizer who has called for the abolition of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and advocates Medicare for all and tuition-free higher education โ argued that her victory was indicative of a broader Democratic shift to the left.
โYeah, well, you know, I think that weโre in the middle of a movement in this country,โ she said. โI feel this movement, but that movement is going to happen from the bottom up. That movement is going to come from voters.โ
โThere are a lot of really exciting races with extremely similar dynamics as mine,โ she added. โItโs not just one district.โ
Asked whether the Democratic leadershipโs advanced age presented a problem for the party, Ocasio-Cortez emphasized the importance of party diversity. โI do think that we do need to elect a generation of new people to Congress in both partiesโฆ.We have to have a diversity of age represented in Congress, too,โ she said.
Asked Wednesday by CNNโs Poppy Harlow whether she would commit to endorsing Pelosi for speaker should the Democrats reclaim the House in the fall, Ocasio-Cortez demurred.
โI think itโs far too early to make those kinds of commitments right now,โ she said, adding that Democrats โneed to just focus on winning in November first and then weโll have the conversation about our leadership.โ







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