Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accuses her defeated Democratic primary opponent of stubbornly running a third-party challenge against her

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
(Image credit: Scott Heins/Getty Images)

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) was stunningly defeated in last month's Democratic primary in New York by progressive phenom Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. At the time, he put on a good face, even playing "Born to Run" for her after she'd sealed the spot. But things might not be so friendly beyond the Bruce Springsteen covers, and now Ocasio-Cortez is accusing Crowley of mounting a third-party challenge against her:

It had been expected that Crowley would vacate the spot and support his fellow Democrat in the race:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Bill Lipton, state director of the Working Families Party, said he immediately reached out to Mr. Crowley's campaign to request that he vacate the line.To Mr. Lipton's chagrin, his campaign declined; Mr. Crowley will remain on the ballot in November. "You'd think that given the moment we're in," said Mr. Lipton, "that Democratic leaders would want to help progressive forces to unite." [The New York Times]

Crowley's campaign sidestepped a question about why they are remaining on the ballot. "Joe Crowley is a Democrat," a spokeswoman told the Times. "He's made clear he is not running for Congress and supports the Democratic nominee in NY-14."

Update 9:51: Crowley responded to Ocasio-Cortez's accusation on Twitter, writing: "Alexandria, the race is over and Democrats need to come together. I've made my support for you clear and the fact that I'm not running. We've scheduled phone calls and your team has not followed through. I'd like to connect but I'm not willing to air grievances on Twitter."

Explore More
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.