Ocasio-cortez endorses Archila

Progressives hope that congresswoman’s support in LG race will help energize voters

For much of her first term, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-cortez raised her profile by fighting for nationwide initiatives favored by the far left, like “Medicare for All” and the Green New Deal.

But in recent months, Ocasiocortez, whose district includes parts of Queens and the Bronx, has shown a strong interest in more local issues and in lifting the profile of people far closer to home.

On Wednesday, Ocasio-cortez made her first statewide endorsement, backing Ana María Archila, an activist who is seeking to become the first Latina elected to statewide office in New York, in the contest for lieutenant governor.

Ocasio-cortez is expected to appear at a rally for Archila on Monday, one day before the June 28 primary, and will also send out a fundraising email. Archila’s campaign believes the endorsement will increase donors and volunteers and energize leftleaning Democrats to vote.

Ocasio-cortez’s endorsement, which was confirmed by her spokesperson, Lauren Hitt, may also encourage other national progressive Democratic leaders to take more interest in the race.

“What AOC represents is a constituency of young people who are so tired of the passivity of mainstream Democrats on the issues of our moment, whether it is climate, making progress on dismantling the racist structure in our legal system or standing with workers,” Archila said. “The future of the Democratic Party is this new wave and this new generation.”

Archila — who is running in tandem with Jumaane D. Williams, the New York City public advocate — and Ocasio-cortez have crossed paths before. In 2019, Archila was Ocasio-cortez’s guest at the State of the Union address, after she got national attention for confronting Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona in an elevator over the nomination of Brett

Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Archila and another Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, Diana Reyna, face an uphill challenge in trying to defeat the newly installed incumbent, Antonio Delgado, a former congressman who left his House seat last month.

Some elected officials and union leaders are worried that Gov. Kathy Hochul is running too low-key of a primary campaign and that it could hurt the chances of Delgado, even though he has much more money than Archila.

“While the opposition might want to take advantage of a sleepy electorate that is not aware of Election Day, we want as many voters as possible to know what is at stake in this race,” said Sochie Nnaemeka, the head of the New York state Working Families Party, which has endorsed Archila.

Ocasio-cortez recently endorsed state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi in her primary challenge to Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a moderate Democrat.

In several races, young women of color are challenging longserving male incumbents in districts whose demographics have evolved during their time in office. Others are challenging heavy hitters such as Senate energy chair Kevin Parker. Opponents claim these veterans have not been responsive enough to progressive demands. Many of these challengers seek seats in the state Assembly, which some on the left see as an impediment to pushing a transformative agenda through the Legislature.