#AOC cruises to primary win, looks set to waltz to reelection

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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), votes early in the Democratic congressional primary election.
REUTERS

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez looks set to waltz to a second term as the self-described Democratic socialist dominated her primary competition Tuesday night.

The incumbent — almost better known by her initials, AOC, than her actual name — rolled to victory, claiming 73 percent of the ballots cast at the polls during early voting and on primary day, with 74 percent of precincts reporting.

Her best-funded opponent — Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former Republican and financial news reporter — had nabbed just 20 percent of the vote.

“When I won in 2018, many dismissed our victory as a ‘fluke,’ AOC tweeted as the vote counts rolled in. “Our [2016] win was treated as an aberration, or bc my opponent ‘didn’t try.’”

“So from the start, tonight’s race was important to me,” she added. “Tonight we are proving that the people’s movement in NY isn’t an accident. It‘s a mandate.”

Ocasio-Cortez was expected to easily win the race, in which Caruso-Cabrera focused on her opposition to the Amazon headquarters deal for Long Island City, her far-left leanings as a leader of the congressional progressives and brought renewed attention to complaints she hasn’t focused enough on constituent services.

But her last-minute attack ads on Caruso-Cabrera gave some poll watchers reason to think she was vulnerable.

AOC’s heavily Democratic district covers portions of western Queens, including Astoria and Elmhurst, and the eastern portion of The Bronx.