Ocasio-Cortez breezes to reelection as progressives, including Jamaal Bowman, dominate N.Y. congressional primaries

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leading the way.

The left-leaning congresswoman breezed to victory in her first primary as an incumbent on Tuesday, setting the tone for an election night dominated by progressive momentum and centrist setbacks.

With all precincts reporting in her Queens-Bronx district, Ocasio-Cortez trounced her middle-of-the-road challenger, former CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, by an astonishing 70%-19% margin, according to official State Board of Elections tallies.

Like all of Tuesday’s primaries, the tally did not account for mail-in absentee ballots, which the state allowed all residents to apply for because of the coronavirus. The BOE granted more than 700,000 mail-in ballot applications to city residents alone, though it remained unclear late Tuesday how many had been returned.

Still, Ocasio-Cortez was confident that her massive double-digit lead would carry her home, declaring victory and taking a sharp shot at Caruso-Cabrera over her corporate campaign donors.

“Wall Street CEOs, from Goldman Sachs to Blackstone, poured in millions to defeat our grassroots campaign tonight,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted after the results landed. “But their money couldn’t buy a movement. Thank you #NY14, and every person who pitched in for tonight’s victory. Here’s to speaking truth to power.”

Ocasio-Cortez, 30, was first elected in 2018 after beating 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley by double digits in a stunning upset that rocked the Democratic Party establishment.

Jamaal Bowman, a former public school principal in the Bronx, appeared on track to potentially pull of a repeat of Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory on Tuesday, as he held an early, double-digit lead over 16-term Rep. Eliot Engel in their hotly-contested primary.

With nearly all precincts in Engel’s Bronx and Westchester County-spanning district reporting, Bowman topped the chart by a 61%-36% margin, according to BOE tallies.

Outstanding mail-in ballots aside, Bowman expressed confidence in the early results during an energetic election night speech from Yonkers.

“Eliot Engel — I’ll say his name once — used to say that he was a thorn in the side of Donald Trump. But you know what Donald Trump is more afraid of than anything else? A black man with power,” Bowman said to roars from a small crowd of supporters. “If the results continue to bear out as they are bearing out this evening, and we get to Congress, it will be our job to hold Donald Trump accountable and hold every elected official accountable.”

Bowman, who saw a surge of support after Engel had an embarrassing hot mic moment earlier this month, added: “I am fired up. I cannot wait to get to Congress and cause problems for the people in there who have been maintaining the status quo.”

Engel, who’s been in Congress since 1989, had his campaign issue a statement as the results rolled in urging supporters to keep cool.

“With so many absentee ballots outstanding and many still coming in, we know that the full results of the primary won’t be known for some time,” the statement read. “Every voter deserves to have their voice heard in our electoral system, and every primary ballot must be counted to ensure that happens.”

Appearing at a middle school in the Riverdale section of the Bronx to cast a ballot earlier Tuesday, Engel appeared muted.

“I think every race stands on its own. Whatever voters decide is perfectly fine,” said Engel, who chairs the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee and ranks as one of the most senior Democrats in his chamber.

A few miles south, in retiring Rep. Jose Serrano’s Bronx district, City Councilman Richie Torres — who could become the first openly gay black man elected to Congress — clutched a double-digit lead over his closest contender, Assemblyman Michael Blake, with all Election Day ballots accounted for.

Incumbent Manhattan Rep. Jerry Nadler fared much better than Engel and declared victory in his primary after all Election Day ballots put him in the lead over his progressive challenger, Lindsey Boylan, by a 60%-24% margin.

“Thank you #NY10! The results tonight are clear,” Nadler tweeted. “Your confidence and support are the honor of a lifetime, and I could not be more proud to continue to represent you.”

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Nadler’s Manhattan colleague, faced a more precarious situation.

With all Election Day ballots accounted for, Maloney was neck-to-neck with her top progressive contender, Suraj Patel, leading him by less than 2%.

Maloney’s best bet is hoping plenty of mail-in ballots were cast in her favor — but Patel argued that’s unlikely.

“We are proud to have run the best absentee ballot field program in this race, and now the energy and momentum is on our side,” he said. “With thousands of votes outstanding — many from young voters and people of color — we will fight to ensure that every vote is counted, every voice is heard, and New Yorkers have the representation they deserve.”

In retiring Rep. Nita Lowey’s Westchester County-spanning district, progressive candidate Mondaire Jones also had a good night.

With more than three-fourths of Election Day ballots in the bag, Jones held a 42%-21% lead over his closest contender, Adam Schleifer, a former federal prosecutor.

Jones was so confident in the results that he declared victory in a Facebook live-stream.

“This will largely be a story of how young people came together,” Jones said. “I do expect to be the Democratic nominee.”

On the other side of the East River, seven-term Brooklyn Rep. Yvette Clarke appeared likely to win her primary against progressive challenger Adem Bunkeddeko.

With all precincts reporting, Clarke held a substantial 60%-19% lead over Bunkeddeko, who unsuccessfully challenged the congresswoman in 2018 as well.

In a coy tweet as the results were reported, Clarke tweeted: “How are we looking? #votevyette.”

Voting on Tuesday was unlike anything New York has seen in modern memory, with constituents required to wear face masks and polling stations enforcing social distancing because of the pandemic.

As noted by Jones, Tuesday’s positive results for progressives were likely boosted by a surge in participation by young voters.

Cleo Mascoll, a 30-year-old Brooklyn resident who voted at PS3 in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Tuesday afternoon, said she felt compelled to make it out to her polling station because she wants to see radical reform in both Congress and the state Legislature.

“Lots of people trying to keep the status quo. Everybody’s 70 or 80-years-old in there,” she said. “We gotta get them out. It’s our time now.”