Left’s rising star can help Pressley rally base
The socialist congressional candidate from New York who has rocketed to national stardom will likely be traveling to Massachusetts to campaign for congressional candidate Ayanna Pressley, a top aide tells the Herald.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 28, who shocked Democrats by beating powerful New York incumbent congressman Joe Crowley, is expected to blitz the 7th Congressional District with Pressley before the Sept. 4 primary.
“We’re working out the details but it is likely she’ll swing through the 7th (District),” Pressley campaign manager Sarah Groh said yesterday on Boston Herald Radio.
Ocasio-Cortez could provide a big boost to Pressley, a Boston city councilor who is challenging longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville).
But the endorsement visit also comes with some baggage — Ocasio-Cortez’s socialist beliefs and less-than-impressive performances in some recent televised interviews.
Ocasio-Cortez calls herself a “democratic socialist” in the mold of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom she backed in 2016. She wants “Medicare for all” — basically single-payer health care — and advocates abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Neither of those positions is out of the mainstream of liberal thought these days but may not play well with some blue-collar voters in Capuano’s district, which includes parts of Boston, Somerville and Cambridge.
Ocasio-Cortez has bungled questions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and military spending in recent weeks, leading some critics to label her as a lightweight who is too far left for even some Democrats. But Pressley trails Capuano by nearly a double-digit margin in a new Emerson College poll, and could use the enthusiasm and attention Ocasio-Cortez could bring.
Pressley has had trouble landing big endorsements, and so far has been passed over by powerful women’s groups like Emily’s List, likely due to Capuano’s influence. And Pressley has struggled to differentiate herself on the issues, arguing that the race is not a referendum on his record. With a likely low voter turnout in the Sept. 4 primary Pressley desperately needs to rally her liberal base.
Pressley got a smaller boost yesterday with an endorsement from Attorney General Maura Healey, who argued that her decision to not back Capuano was “personal, not political” — meaning she’s tight with Pressley. But Healey, with no primary race, likely will be unable to deliver much in the way of organizational muscle to Pressley on Sept. 4.
So it could be up to OcasioCortez to bring the kind of sizzle that gets voters to the polls, and elevates Pressley as the next big Democratic giant killer.