# AOC has a formidable primary challenger in journalist Maria Caruso-Cabrera **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 5, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148 "2020-04-05T20:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/21 "2020-04-07T20:19:22Z")
I’m fine with her being challenged. If she’s as good as I think she is, she won’t break a sweat on her way to her second term. But we’ll see. Primary challenges in safe blue districts are good for keeping Reps on their toes and from getting complacent. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/22 "2020-04-07T20:21:03Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > AOC does appear to be vulnerable in her own district but only if someone pulls an AOC on her in the primary. She won by going grassroots and hitting the pavement. Working hard going door to door and getting supporters out to vote in a low turnout primary. It also helped to have a complacent opponent. > > I can’t seem to recall what it is but I think there might be something going on that would keep a grassroots door to door hands on campaign from happening. I think she is safe. Right, and Crowley basically didn’t campaign at all. I don’t think AOC makes that mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/23 "2020-04-07T20:34:26Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Having an influential national figure as Rep is almost always good for a locality – influential Reps are more likely to get stuff that benefits their district. You mean like the new Amazon Headquarters? Oh wait… ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/24 "2020-04-07T20:42:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Explain, please? She has a million dollars in her PAC. She was going to use it to help other progressive Justice Democrats primary moderates in safe blue districts. She is no longer going to do that. Shortly after her election: [https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/17/ocasio-cortez-throws-support-behind-campaign-to-primary-democrats-1000529](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/17/ocasio-cortez-throws-support-behind-campaign-to-primary-democrats-1000529) More recently: > **[AOC's Justice Democrats Are Out for Scalps in 2020 Primary Challenges](https://www.ccn.com/aocs-justice-democrats-out-for-scalps-2020-primary-challenges/)** > > Freshman reps used to lay low and play nice with senior members to get coveted committee assignments. AOC wants to keep bringing the fight. > **[Ocasio-Cortez Builds Progressive Campaign Arm to Challenge Democrats...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/21/us/politics/aoc-democrats.html)** > > Ms. Ocasio-Cortez endorsed a slate of progressive challengers to Democratic candidates and incumbents, working to create a liberal counterweight to the party’s official campaign arm. She no longer embraces that tactic: [https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/30/new-aoc-divides-the-left-150767](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/30/new-aoc-divides-the-left-150767) ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/25 "2020-04-07T20:44:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > AOC does appear to be vulnerable in her own district but only if someone pulls an AOC on her in the primary. She won by going grassroots and hitting the pavement. Working hard going door to door and getting supporters out to vote in a low turnout primary. It also helped to have a complacent opponent. > > I can’t seem to recall what it is but I think there might be something going on that would keep a grassroots door to door hands on campaign from happening. I think she is safe. She won because her opponent didn’t take her seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/26 "2020-04-07T20:46:29Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’m fine with her being challenged. If she’s as good as I think she is, she won’t break a sweat on her way to her second term. But we’ll see. Primary challenges in safe blue districts are good for keeping Reps on their toes and from getting complacent. I suspect it pushes her towards the center and she ends up exactly where Joe Crowley was? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/27 "2020-04-07T20:48:20Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > She won because her opponent didn’t take her seriously. Good reason to be happy that he’s gone, then – if he sucked so bad as a politician that he didn’t take the election seriously, he deserved to lose. We should be glad when unskilled Democratic politicians who are bad at winning elections are replaced by skilled and talented Democrats who are better at winning elections. > [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I suspect it pushes her towards the center and she ends up exactly where Joe Crowley was? I suspect she’ll be much, much less likely to blow off elections than Crowley. On the issues, she’s still significantly more progressive (yay!), and we’ll see how that changes. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/28 "2020-04-07T21:53:55Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > She won because her opponent didn’t take her seriously. She partially won because he didn’t take her seriously. She also won because of voter apathy. She mostly won because she put in a lot of hard and effective work. Love her or hate her, it’s undeniable that she ran a smart and effective campaign against an entrenched incumbent. In my often wrong opinion the current situation in the world will keep something similar from happening to her. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/29 "2020-04-07T21:57:48Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > She has a million dollars in her PAC. She was going to use it to help other progressive Justice Democrats primary moderates in safe blue districts. She is no longer going to do that. > … Well, that’s good, then because infighting does nothing but help the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/30 "2020-04-07T22:08:53Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Good reason to be happy that he’s gone, then – if he sucked so bad as a politician that he didn’t take the election seriously, he deserved to lose. We should be glad when unskilled Democratic politicians who are bad at winning elections are replaced by skilled and talented Democrats who are better at winning elections. In a safe blue district? Should we have every safe Democrat focused more on doing Democrat things or on making sure that noone is sneaking up behind them during the primary? > [@](#): > > I suspect she’ll be much, much less likely to blow off elections than Crowley. On the issues, she’s still significantly more progressive (yay!), and we’ll see how that changes. Considering how she beat Crowley, yes she is less likely to blow off primary challenges. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/31 "2020-04-07T22:10:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, that’s good, then because infighting does nothing but help the GOP. Some people (like iiandyiiii) don’t think that’s true. Some people (like iiandyiiii) thinks that infighting is OK as long as it results in moving the party to the left. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/32 "2020-04-07T22:33:22Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Some people (like iiandyiiii) don’t think that’s true. Some people (like iiandyiiii) thinks that infighting is OK as long as it results in moving the party to the left. Honestly, it seems sometimes like they’d rather have trump than a moderate democrat. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/33 "2020-04-07T22:37:33Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Some people (like iiandyiiii) don’t think that’s true. Some people (like iiandyiiii) thinks that infighting is OK as long as it results in moving the party to the left. In safe blue districts, this is a great thing, and strengthens the party. Also, if it helps boot the Democrats who are shitty at winning elections, like Crowley. I want a party full of politicians who are very highly skilled at winning elections, and the younger the better. Imagine if every presidential primary candidate (or hell, just 1 or 2) this cycle had the charisma and talent of AOC, and just a bit of her youth! We should be ENCOURAGING young progressives to primary Democrats in safe blue districts! The skilled older Democrats will brush them aside with ease, but the ones with poor skills and effort (like Crowley) will lose and be replaced by _more talented Democrats_. Why would anyone prefer a lazy, less skilled old dude over an energetic and talented young person? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/34 "2020-04-07T22:38:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Honestly, it seems sometimes like they’d rather have trump than a moderate democrat. Which posts of mine are you referring to? Please be specific. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/35 "2020-04-07T22:43:15Z")
Sometimes, it feels like older Democrats want young progressives, also known as _the fucking future of the Democratic party_, to just disappear. I’d prefer to nail them down and ensure they become Democrats for life. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/36 "2020-04-07T22:44:50Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Also, if it helps boot the Democrats who are shitty at winning elections, like Crowley. I want a party full of politicians who are very highly skilled at winning elections, and the younger the better. Imagine if every presidential primary candidate (or hell, just 1 or 2) this cycle had the charisma and talent of AOC. We should be ENCOURAGING young progressives to primary Democrats in safe blue districts! The skilled older Democrats will brush them aside with ease, but the ones with poor skills and effort (like Crowley) will lose and be replaced by _more talented Democrats_. > > Why would anyone prefer a lazy, less skilled old dude over an energetic and talented young person? Talent?? LoL. She took the air out of Pelosis sails just when Nancy thought she was riding the momentum of reclaiming the Speakers chair. AOC is a godsend to Reps in swing states. She is a Twitter hero for the far left and a galvanizing force of goofiness for the moderates/conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/37 "2020-04-07T22:45:48Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Talent?? LoL. She took the air out of Pelosis sails just when Nancy thought she was riding the momentum of reclaiming the Speakers chair. AOC is a godsend to Reps in swing states. She is a Twitter hero for the far left and a galvanizing force of goofiness for the moderates/conservatives. Ha! So was Obama in '07. What a joke! AOC may not have the talent of Obama (but then again… she’s a lot further along than he was at 29), but being “a godsend to Republicans” was pretty much exactly the same what they (Republicans) said about Obama in '07. We’ll see. I’m very pleased to have her in the party. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/38 "2020-04-07T22:45:52Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Sometimes, it feels like older Democrats want young progressives, also known as _the fucking future of the Democratic party_, to just disappear. I’d prefer to nail them down and ensure they become Democrats for life. Or they disagree with their politics. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/39 "2020-04-07T22:46:54Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Ha! So was Obama in '07. What a joke! Had a few? If you think Obama is anywhere near as far left as AOC… ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148/40 "2020-04-07T22:48:57Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Had a few? If you think Obama is anywhere near as far left as AOC… Back in '07, Obama was about as close to the center of the party as AOC is now. Sure, Obama turned out to govern a lot more moderately than his rhetoric, but that’s what we’re talking about – rhetoric. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aoc-has-a-formidable-primary-challenger-in-journalist-maria-caruso-cabrera/851148.md?page=3)