Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her political action committee Courage to Change named two progressive challengers to incumbent Democrats in Chicago and Texas in their first round of endorsements.
Jessica Cisneros, who is challenging conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar in Texas, and Marie Newman, a challenger for Rep. Dan Lipinski in the Chicago area, were among the seven candidates, all women, the PAC endorsed on Friday.
The endorsements may anger Democratic leadership, especially the announcement of a challenger to Cuellar, who was endorsed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced an all-female slate in the first round of endorsements from her political action committee Courage to Change on Friday
AOC endorsed Jessica Cisneros (left), 26, who is running against conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar in Texas and Marie Newman (right) is a challenger for Rep. Dan Lipinski
The Freshman congresswoman announced the seven women her PAC is officially endorsing on Friday including two challengers to Democratic incumbents in the House
Ocasio-Cortez established her PAC Courage to Change in January. The freshman lawmaker said it was dedicated to electing progressive legislators.
‘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 and more,’ said Ocasio-Cortez Friday.
Her other endorsements included Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez for a Texas Senate seat, and Teresa Fernandez in New Mexico, Kara Eastman in Nebraska, Georgette Gomez in California, and Samelys Lopez in New York for House seats.
Endorsement of the challengers is seen as part of the congresswoman’s larger plan to use her celebrity status and large social media following to reshape the Democratic party and to pull the House to the left.
Her own upset victory against 20-year Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley in the New York primary in 2018 inspired a wave of Democratic challengers across the country and Ocasio-Cortez is said to be now carefully selecting the candidates she stands behind with the aim that her seal of approval will give them the star factor.
‘One of our primary goals is to reward political courage in Congress and also to help elect a progressive majority in the House of Representatives,’ Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Times.
‘There’s kind of a dual nature to this: One is opening the door to newcomers, and the other is to reward members of Congress that are exhibiting very large amounts of political courage.’
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez established her PAC to elect more progressive Democratic candidates in a plan to use her celebrity status to push to House to the left
Jessica Cisneros, 26, is an attorney running for Congress in Texas against conservative Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, who is criticized because of his ‘A’ gun rating
Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas, is facing a more progressive challenger in the 2020 primary despite receiving the endorsement of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
The announcement of the challengers to incumbent Democrats in particular could rile up the party’s leadership, who has already created a blacklist of campaign staffers who work for primary challengers to Democratic incumbents.
Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed 26-year-old attorney Ciserno as a challenger to conservative Congressman Henry Cuellar in southeast Texas.
He has an ‘A’ rating from the National Rifle Association, which is criticized by progressives.
Cueller has received the endorsement of Pelosi and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois while Ciserno has also been backed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
That primary will be decided on Super Tuesday on March 3.
Later in the month on March 17, Marie Newman will run against the incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski in Illinois, who also received the endorsement of Pelosi in 2018.
Lipinski is the only remaining anti-abortion Democrat left in the party’s congressional caucus but despite Pelosi’s backing two years ago, the tide may be turning on his support.
Ocasio-Cortez-backed Marie Newman already came within 2,200 votes of unseating him in 2018 and she recently received the endorsements of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Marie Newman was backed by AOC as a Democratic challenger for a seat in the Chicago area
incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski is the only remaining anti-abortion Democrat left in the party’s congressional caucus and is facing a primary challenge from Marie Newman
Courage for Change endorsed Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, a labor and voting rights activist, for a Senate seat in Texas where she will face off with established Dem choice M.J. Hegar
Courage for Change’s Senate endorsement Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, a labor and voting rights activist, is also a challenger running against M.J. Hegar, the establishe Democratic choice.
The winner, however, will be facing off in November against John Coryn, who has been a Texas Senator since 2002.
The remaining endorsemnets Fernandez, Lopez and Gomez are all running for open seats in Democratic districts.
All of the PAC’s first batch of endorsements were for challengers although it has claimed that it will support incumbents who vote for progressive causes.
‘Contributions will be used to make early investments in progressive challengers that can even the playing field against established incumbents, and bolster progressive leaders in Congress who take difficult but righteous stands,’ the Courage to Change website reads.
Ocasio-Cortez has not endorsed the challengers running primary campaigns against Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts or Reps. Jerry Nadler and Eliot Engel of New York who are all chairmen of powerful committees in the House.