AOC Offers Increasingly Coveted Endorsement to Ed Markey in Massachusetts Senate Race

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Senator Ed Markey, her octogenarian co-author of the Green New Deal, for another term in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Markey is one of a small band of Democrats who have won Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s outright support as she has become increasingly selective in whom she supports. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is deploying a much different strategy than some would-be revolutionaries. Unlike Senator Bernie Sanders and others, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is not endorsing against any sitting Democrats in the House, and she has been much more muted in her criticism of Democratic Party leadership than other progressive Democrats. Many believe that the caution with which she moves is a sign that she is preparing for a 2028 presidential campaign. On Thursday, Ms. Ocasio-Cortes endorsed Mr. Markey in a brief, three-sentence statement that calls Mr. Markey a “longtime legislative partner and proven progressive champion.”“At a time when powerful special interests are making life harder for everyday Americans, Massachusetts working families need a champion in the U.S. Senate to stand up for them and fight corporate greed,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez wrote. She called Mr. Markey “an inspiration to many of us who are committed to building a better future for all.”Though the fact that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez offered the endorsement is important for Mr. Markey, it is even more important for political observers to note how she did so. In 2019, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Mr. Markey nearly a year before the Democratic primary. Now, she is doing so less than two weeks before Massachusetts voters go to the polls. Just this year, she held rallies with candidates like Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive Michigan doctor, and Sam Forstag, a smokejumper who is running to represent western Montana in the House. She cut a television ad for Dr. El-Sayed, something she rarely does. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was not featured in Mr. Markey’s most-watched advertisement, which includes appearances from Mr. Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has stayed away from some of the messier primary fights in her party, unlike many fellow democratic socialists and progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill. She was not part of the movement to unseat two sitting House Democrats in New York City — Congressmen Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman — which was led by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. She never endorsed Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate who dropped out of the race after he was accused of rape. She also stayed away from the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, where it appeared that socialist state representative Francesca Hong was a shoo-in to be the nominee. Ms. Hong would end up losing the primary by less than one percent. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, arguably the most social-media savvy lawmaker on Capitol Hill, is doing nothing to amplify her support for Mr. Markey on her social media pages. As of Thursday, she has not once posted or shared anything about Mr. Markey or her support for him to her tens of millions of followers. Mr. Markey, unlike some of his fellow Democrats, is not facing a primary challenge from the left. Instead, his opponent, Congressman Seth Moulton, is making a case for generational change. The 47-year-old Marine with a decorated combat record has argued that Mr. Markey just doesn’t have what it takes to stand up to President Trump. If he wins his primary, Mr. Markey would be 86 at the end of his term. “The question before us is whether, at 80 years old, you should serve for another six years,” Mr. Moulton said during his most recent debate with Mr. Markey. “People ought to ask: what are you going to accomplish in the next six years that you haven’t been able to accomplish in the last 50?” The two men are due to participate in their final debate on Thursday night.

AOC Offers Increasingly Coveted Endorsement to Ed Markey in Massachusetts Senate Race

AOC Offers Increasingly Coveted Endorsement to Ed Markey in Massachusetts Senate Race

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