OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not happy after it appears a socialist candidate she backed lost their election.
Ocasio-Cortez sounded off publicly on leaders of her own party after left-wing immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros failed to immediately defeat Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar in a heated Democratic primary.
Cuellar, a nine-term incumbent, is leading Cisneros by less than 200 votes in Texas’ 28th District as of Thursday morning.
Although Cuellar declared victory early Wednesday, Cisneros has not yet conceded and ballots will be recounted.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Whip James Clyburn, and other top Democrats supported Cuellar’s campaign through robocalls and in-person events, while Ocasio-Cortez and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Cisneros.“Accountability isn’t partisan. This was an utter failure of leadership,” Ocasio-Cortez complained of leadership’s support for Cuellar.
“Congress should not be an incumbent protection racket and sadly it is treated as such by far too many. The fact is those who fail their communities deserve to lose. They don’t need rescuing from powerful leaders who state they fight for gun safety, the right to choose, and more,” she continued.
TX28 is an extremely close race. If Cuellar wins, leadership’s decision to go to the mat for a pro-NRA incumbent will be the reason why. If Cisneros pulls it out, they will have mobilized against a badly needed grassroots for Nov & fought against a historic victory. And for what?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 25, 2022
Henry Cuellar, the only House Democrat who voted against his party’s federal abortion bill, appears to have survived a primary challenge from the left. https://t.co/4ijE9mDm9t
— National Review (@NRO) May 26, 2022
Great news out of Texas’ 28th district – it appears Henry Cuellar DEFEATS squad backed progressive Jessica Cisneros in the district’s Democratic primary! pic.twitter.com/Gjpi6hmxu1
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) May 25, 2022
In another closely watched Georgia race, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene easily won her Republican primary.
Greene defeated several Republicans vying to unseat her, particularly Jennifer Strahan, the founder of a suburban Atlanta health care advisory firm who pitched herself to voters as a “no-nonsense conservative.”
Greene in her victory speech said the primary win was a “message to the bloodsucking establishment.”
“Sending me back to Washington will send a message to the bloodsucking establishment: It is we who will set the policy agenda for the next decade and not them,” Greene said. “We’re going to start speaking the truth more forcefully and more loudly than ever before.”
Stacey Abrams was declared the winner of Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Abrams, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor of the Peach State, lost a close race to Republican Brian Kemp in 2018.
Kemp also won the Georgia GOP primary over former Republican Sen. David Perdue, setting up a rematch with Abrams in November’s general election.
“I want to be crystal clear with all of you here tonight: Our battle is far from over tonight,” Kemp said to supporters at his Atlanta-area victory party late Tuesday evening. “Tonight, the fight for the soul of our state begins to make sure that Stacey Abrams is not going to be our governor or the next president.”
“Even in the middle of a tough primary, conservatives in our state didn’t listen to the noise. They didn’t get distracted. They knew our record of fighting and winning for hardworking Georgians,” Kemp said. “And tonight because of your support, Georgia Republicans went to the ballot box and overwhelmingly endorsed four more years of our vision for this great state.”
Soon after he lost the race to Kemp, Perdue told supporters that Kemp is a better choice than Abrams.
“I want you to know tonight that I’m fully supporting Brian in his run to beat Stacey Abrams,” Perdue said. “Everything that I said about Brian is true, but here’s what else I said. He is a much better choice than Ms. Stacey Abrams.”
Abrams came under fire earlier this week after she called Georgia the “worst state in the country to live in,” which did not sit well with voters.
In Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was been declared the winner of the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary.
Sanders, who served as the press secretary under President Donald Trump, secured the Republican nomination on Tuesday night.
The Republican primary race for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat is officially headed for a recount.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh Chapman announced the state will conduct a recount of the GOP primary race.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has been endorsed by Donald Trump, maintains a razor-thin margin of fewer than 1,000 votes over former hedge fund CEO David McCormick.
