Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called on Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the party’s campaign arm, to “step aside” from those responsibilities if he follows through with mounting a primary challenge against another Democratic incumbent in their state.
“Given the resources that he has at his helm, it creates a conflict of interest,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview, according to Politico.
“If he’s going to enter in a primary and challenge another Democratic member, then he should step aside from his responsibilities at the DCCC.”
The New York progressive claimed that Maloney's decision to run in the state’s newly drawn 17th Congressional District, in a map that still needs to be finalized, instead of the 18th Congressional District he currently represents, is “particularly shameful as a member of Democratic leadership, especially as the leadership of the DCCC, who asks all of us to make sacrifices in one way or another, who asks progressives to make sacrifices on their stances in order to preserve a majority."
Earlier this week, Maloney announced he would be running in the state’s 17th District following a new court-sanctioned map unveiled on Monday. Though the new district includes his home, it would also mean setting up a member-on-member primary as the 17th is currently represented by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.).
“While the process to draw these maps without the legislature is against the will of voters, if the newly-announced maps are finalized, I will run in New York's 17th Congressional District. NY-17 includes my home and many of the Hudson Valley communities I currently represent,” Maloney tweeted on Monday.
“Further, I believe I am the only sitting member who resides in NY17,” he added in a...