U.S. Rep. Rohit (RO) Khanna (D-CA) this week endorsed Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for personal reasons, after previously endorsing incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley ((D-Sunnyside, Astoria, College Point, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Corona, Woodside & parts of the Bronx) in the increasingly contentious upcoming June 26 Democratic primary.
Khanna’s district is located in the South San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of Silicon Valley. Among the corporate headquarters in the district includes Apple Inc, Intel Corp., Yahoo, and eBay – making it one of the, if not the most wealthiest district in the nation.
Ocasio-Cortez is a 28-year-old Democratic Socialist from a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx.
Khanna has history working with Crowley on Medicare for All, marijuana legalization, and the Workplace Democracy Act. Khanna explains on Twitter that he had strong interactions with Crowley, but was inspired by Ocasio-Cortez’s platform, bold positions, resistance against PAC money, and her ability to bring together minorities.
Khanna’s campaign was like Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign. Khanna also ran against incumbents without receiving support from established Democrats. After two unsuccessful campaigns, he beat incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Honda and represented California’s 17th district since 2017.
“I have listened today to hundreds of progressives from around the nation who have been inspired by @ocasio2018 campaign. I am equally inspired & dual endorsing her. I explained why I support Joe. But I want to affirm Ocasio-Cortez’s bold progressive positions,” Khanna said on Twitter Tuesday.
Khanna further explains that as a son of an immigrant, he feels strongly that the political arena need more millennials, women of color, and disenfranchised communities. He complimented Ocasio-Cortez and called her a ‘trailblazer.’
On Twitter, Khanna received backlash from progressives who questioned why he didn’t pull his endorsement from Crowley completely, stating his dual-endorsement will help neither candidate.
Ocasio-Cortez urged followers on Twitter to support Khanna for the risk he took to endorse her campaign, explaining that just saying her name helps her campaign enormously.
“To some, it may not seem like much, but @RoKhanna endorsing our campaign challenging the House Dem leader is enormously consequential. He listened to the PEOPLE, adapted, and courageously endorsed Ocasio2018. He could have ignored our pushback. He didn’t. Let’s have his back,” Ocasio Cortez said on Twitter Wednesday.
