‘There’s A Crisis In Queens And It’s Called AOC’: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Gets A Republican Challenger
New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocaio-Cortez is facing another challenger for her seat in Congress, USA Today reports.
Republican business woman Scherie Murray announced on Wednesday her plans to compete for Ocasio-Cortez’s seat in New York’s 14th Congressional District.
Murray accused the freshman congresswoman of serving her own self-interest rather than the interests of her Queens constituents, implying that Ocasio-Cortez was more interested in fame than governing.
“AOC chooses self-promotion over service, conflict over constituents, resistance over assistance,” Murray tweeted Wednesday, attaching a link to donate to her campaign. “We need to build bridges, not burn them down. Join our movement to #unitethefight”
According to Murray‘s campaign website, the candidate was born in Jamaica and moved with her family to New York City at the age of nine.
In 2004, Murray founded The Esemel Group, which she said she created to bring more minority voices to media, according to the website.
While Murray does not detail any potential policies on her website, the candidate does state that she’d like to focus on school choice for parents, strengthening relationships between the community and law enforcement and starting a conversation about comprehensive immigration reform.
Ocasio-Cortez won her seat in 2018 after ousting 10-term Democrat incumbent Joe Crowley. In the general election she fared quite well over Republican challenger Anthony Pappas, securing 78 percent of the vote, per Ballotpedia.
#NEW: Scherie Murray—a Republican businesswoman who immigrated from Jamaica—announces her intentions to run for the New York congressional seat held by Democratic freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. #OANN pic.twitter.com/mLDzb1dteo
— Jenn Franco KESQ (@jennfranconews) July 17, 2019
Recently, Ocasio-Cortez, who is often referred to by her initials “AOC,” has become a member of what some deem a “squad” that includes herself and three other freshmen congresswomen. The group of women, which includes Democrat Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley, is known for their progressive policies and distaste for President Trump and his administration.
The President tweeted Sunday, in an act that the House voted to condemn Tuesday, that members of the “squad” should go home to their ancestral countries. Three of the representatives, including Ocasio-Cortez, were born in the United States.
Notably, since Ocasio-Cortez took office in January of this year, she criticized Amazon after it announced plans to open a headquarters in New York due to tax breaks the company scored from the city. Amazon would later withdraw plans to construct a facility in New York following the political backlash.
The 29-year-old congresswomen is also known for her proposed environmental policy known as the “Green New Deal,” a plan that calls for green energy, universal healthcare as well as guaranteed employment, per NPR. She has faced backlash from opponents who questioned how she would afford to pay for such policies.
According to The New York Post, Murray is the fifth Republican who has announced plans to challenge Ocasio-Cortez. She does not have any Democrat challengers.
