Washington — The US Democratic Party was rocked to its core on Tuesday, while Trump-backed Mitt Romney won the Republican Senate primary in Utah.
Democrat congressman Joe Crowley, seen as a potential successor to Nancy Pelosi as party leader and even speaker, was beaten by a far-left novice, in the biggest shock upset of the 2018 political season, which could presage a lurch to the left for the party.
Crowley, a 10-term incumbent representing New York’s diverse 14th district, the number four Democrat in the House of Representatives and chairman of the Democratic caucus, lost his primary to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Bronx-born Latina activist and Bernie Sanders supporter who has never held elected office.
According to a detailed profile this week in Vogue, just months ago Ocasio-Cortez was still working as a server in a restaurant. She identifies as a Democratic socialist.
Her impressive 15 percentage point victory could spell a leftward shift for the party that is squaring up against President Donald Trump’s Republicans in the fall.
Her campaign’s Facebook page highlights her political positions — expanded Medicare for all and tuition-free college — that are similar to those put forward by Sanders, a Vermont socialist who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The implications of Ocasio-Cortez’s primary victory are profound.
It highlights the Democratic Party’s surging progressive wing as it grapples with its identity in the Trump era and in the run-up to November’s midterm elections, when Democrats are aiming to reclaim the House.
"What you have shown is that this nation is never beyond remedy. It is never beyond hope," Octavio-Cortez told her cheering supporters. "We are going to rock the world in the next two years."
Trump swiftly weighed in on Twitter. "Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. In other words, he’s out!" Trump said.
Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. In other words, he’s out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening. Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2018
"That is a big one that nobody saw happening," he said, with uncharacteristic understatement, before following up with a more Trump-like declaration: "The Democrats are in Turmoil!"
A subdued Crowley addressed his supporters and wished Ocasio-Cortez well, hoping she would be victorious in November. "I respect the outcome of this election," he said.
Liberal Democrats congratulated the party’s newest star, with Sanders calling her victory an example of "what progressive grassroots politics can do".
Crowley’s loss is reminiscent of the shock defeat four years ago of Republican congressman Eric Cantor, who was the party’s number two in the House until he was ousted by a little-known conservative college professor who successfully rallied grassroots voters.
Mitt Romney’s victory in his party’s Senate primary in Utah advances him to the general election in November, where the former Republican presidential nominee and sometimes critic of President Donald Trump will be heavily favoured to win.
Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has been one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent critics from within the Republican Party, referring to then-candidate Trump in a March 2016 speech as "a phony, a fraud".
As a senator, Romney could prove an irritant for the White House, like Arizona Republican John McCain who has been a prominent voice — and sometimes vote — against some of the president’s policies and actions.
Tension has thawed in recent months between the current and former Republican standard bearers. Trump backed Romney in his bid to become a senator, while Romney, who thanked the president for his support on his own Twitter feed, told the Associated Press he wasn’t "going to be a daily commentator on everything the president says or does".
Trump congratulated Romney on Twitter for his "big and conclusive win", saying: "I look forward to working together — there is so much good to do."
Romney announced in February he would run for the seat of retiring Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, who decided not to seek an eighth term despite Trump’s entreaties.
Romney starts the general election campaign as a heavy favourite against Jenny Wilson, a Democratic Salt Lake County council member.
AFP and Bloomberg
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