In deep-blue NY-14, the election isn’t held in November. The general election just makes the primary results official as the district is a lock for Democrats. Whoever wins the primary will win in November. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi once quipped that a glass of water with a “D” on it would win the general election.
Former Representative Joe Crowley learned the hard way that no seat is secure in contentious primary seasons, which lately have been all of them. He lost in the primary to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former bartender who was promoted by the Justice Democrats to defeat the man who held the spot for two decades. Two years later, the Democratic Establishment is trying to take the seat back and the woman in the moderate lane is doing very well with fundraising so far.
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a journalist who was the Chief International Correspondent for CNBC for eight years, has raised $1 million and has $800,000 cash on hand. The official filings haven’t been made, but the campaign leaked the information to capitalize on the good news and prompt further fundraising.
“The outpouring of support has been amazing” Caruso-Cabrera said. “Before Coronavirus people were stopping me on the street showing their excitement. And from the beginning the countless handwritten letters from near and far s from across the country have been so moving.”
She still has a large gap in both fundraising and enthusiasm to overcome. Ocasio-Cortez has raised over $2 million and is very popular among radical progressives in her party. But Caruso-Cabrera’s haul is very impressive for a primary opponent and could mean the freshman Congresswoman is in real trouble in June.
“The national and local messages are clear: I will unite, Caruso-Cabrera continued. “AOC’s reign of division will end. This early financial and political support shows unstoppable momentum. As they say in New York, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet.’”
