Democrat Challenging Ocasio-Cortez

A Democratic Party candidate is challenging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), arguing that her positions are to the left of much of the country and should be replaced. Marty Dolan is seeking to replace the candidate often known by her initials AOC in the heavily Democratic House district.

Dolan told Fox News during an interview this week that the representative could not “manage a candy store.” He also chided what he described as Ocasio-Cortez’s “really terrible leadership.”

“So if you’re not pro-business, it isn’t just that you’re a bad manager or a bad leader, you’re bad for the community in general,” he said.

AOC went on The Late Show w/ Stephen Colbert to accuse Israel of 'genocide'.

Not only is this inaccurate, but her inflammatory & divisive rhetoric makes the conflict worse. We need diplomacy, not radicalism.

Retweet if you agree. Help us defeat AOC >> https://t.co/puE27QDU6P

— Marty Dolan for Congress (@MartyDolanNY) April 10, 2024

Dolan is positioning himself toward the center of the Democratic Party, describing himself as a moderate. He said that his party “used to be for unions, for protecting people who had jobs” but is instead tied up with AOC’s persona.

The candidate also warned against the possible spread of socialism into the United States.

“This is like if you’re trying to turn the United States into Venezuela, which is this great big socialist experiment for the last six years. This is Bernie Sanders and AOC trying to turn the United States into Venezuela,” he said.

Ocasio-Cortez was a key backer of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) presidential campaign.

Dolan described significant “dissatisfaction” in the congressional district and said that the representative spent more time getting national headlines rather than serving the wants and needs of local residents.

“So whether it’s the Green New Deal, whether it’s the Amazon deal, whether it’s the immigrants that are coming in and taking benefits that are intended for constituents, she’s really putting the headlines first and the constituents second,” Dolan said.

AOC has been involved with a number of national and local economic debates including her notable opposition to a potential Amazon corporate center in Queens in New York City. The proposal died and the promised 25,000 positions did not materialize.

A significant number of New York residents described her as a “villain” in a poll taken after the failure of the Amazon deal. She has not changed her position since the failed effort by Amazon.