Back in the United States, voters went to the polls for primary elections in seven states Tuesday: New York, Maryland, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi and South Carolina. In a stunning upset and the biggest surprise of the primary election so far this year, 28-year-old Puerto Rican Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat out 10-term incumbent Representative Joe Crowley in New York. Crowley is the fourth-ranking Democrat, who had been regularly floated as a potential speaker of the House. He’d outraised Ocasio-Cortez by at least 10 to 1, yet Ocasio-Cortez defeated Crowley in a stunning upset, after running a progressive grassroots campaign advocating for “Medicare for All” and the abolition of ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Meanwhile, in Maryland, former NAACP President Ben Jealous won the Democratic primary for governor on a progressive platform that includes free college, the legalization of marijuana and a $15-an-hour statewide minimum wage. Jealous will now face Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan in November’s general election. And in other primary results, Republican Mitt Romney won his Senate primary in Utah.
U.S. Primaries: Wins for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in NY, Ben Jealous in MD, Mitt Romney in Utah
HeadlineJun 27, 2018