Jay Jacobs, the State political party chairman ripped into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday over disappointing results in key NY congressional and legislative races last week.
Jacobs, who is additionally the Nassau County Democratic leader, said he’s had it with AOC and other left-wingers lecturing Democrats who have to fight hard to win races in purple districts on island and upstate.
“AOC has no standing on the thanks to run an election within the suburbs and upstate. AOC is during a vicinity that’s 6-1 Democrat and she or he or he couldn’t find a Republican in her district with binoculars,” Jacobs told The Post.
“I invite AOC to return to Long Island and represent the election in one amongst our districts. You’ll see different results,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said Democrats wouldn’t have secured control of the state Senate in 2018 without winning battleground suburban and upstate districts. Progressive laws like controversial bail reform wouldn’t have occurred without them, he said.
The Democratic infighting comes because the party surprisingly lost House seats albeit former chair Joe Biden defeated President Trump within the race for the White House at the very best of the ticket.
In NY , Republicans were leading Democratic incumbents et al. running in vacant seats within the machine count for congressional races on Long Island and borough and some half-dozen state Senate races. But about 1.5 million absentee ballots are still being counted that may tilt the result .
Republicans up and down the ballot ran a law-and-order campaign in NY that attacked Democrats for approving a law that eliminates cash bail for several criminal defendants, backing the “defunding” of the police and advancing socialism. Democrats running the purple districts oppose defunding police and socialism, but their lefty counterparts including AOC support the latter two positions.
Jacobs, like South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, said the “Defund the police” slogan pushed by progressives hurt Democrats in swing districts.
The state Democratic leader — who is on the brink of Gov. Andrew Cuomo — also said the left’s mantra to advance socialism is “frightening” to suburban and upstate voters.
A spokeswoman for Ocasio-Cortez referred The Post to comments the congresswoman previously made on moderate Democrats blaming progressives for losses.
“I really believe we’d prefer to return together and not allow Republican narratives to tear us apart,” AOC said on CNN.
“It is irresponsible to pour gasoline on these delicate tensions within the party.”
Ocasio-Cortez also stood her ground on Twitter, saying that what’s morally right at any given time isn’t popular.
“The concept politicians can control activist messaging doesn’t add up . They don’t work for us,” she said on Twitter Wednesday.
