AOC says she and Schumer “work very closely” but doesn’t rule out 2022 main challenge

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she and fellow New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer “work closely” in Congress, but the progressive champion doesn’t rule out a potential main challenge in 2022 against the majority leader in the Senate.

Ocasio-Cortez, a two-term lawmaker who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens boroughs in New York City, said in an interview with CNN that she and Schumer – who has served in Congress for more than four decades and has been the Democratic Senate summit for four and a half years – have been allies in some successful legislative battles.

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“For what it’s worth, Senator Schumer and I have worked closely on a lot of laws and that, to me, is important,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s Dana Bash.

But Ocasio-Cortez wouldn’t rule out a main challenge against Schumer when he gets re-elected next year.

“I know it drives everyone crazy. But what I really feel about it, and the way I really approach my politics and my political career, is that I don’t look at things and I don’t not set my course positionally, “he added. said the member.

“And I know there’s a lot of people out there who don’t believe that. But I really – I can’t function as I function and do the things that I do in politics while trying to aspire to. other things or calculate with other things, ”Ocasio-Cortez added.

Schumer, who was first elected to the Senate in 1998, has a savvy political touch and has never faced a serious main challenge in his three successful re-election campaigns. He rarely criticizes the left wing of the Democratic Party and has aligned himself with the best progressives during his tenure as Senate Democrats.

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Ocasio-Cortez gained national attention in the 2018 primaries when she beat longtime Rep Joe Crowley, who was on track to eventually succeed Nancy Pelosi as Democratic House leader. Her victory was followed that year by a handful of other progressive contenders, who also ousted longtime Democrats from the House, and Ocasio-Cortez became the best-known of the group of known liberal freshmen. under the name “The Squad”.