Source: NBC NewsWire / Getty
Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on a roll. According to the New York Daily News, Cortez won the Reform Party write-in primary over Bronx Rep. Jose Serrano in the 15th congressional district on Tuesday (July 10).
And get this: Neither she nor Serrano were even running.
“Still, the city Board of Elections certified Ocasio-Cortez’s write-in victory on Tuesday,” the Daily News reports. “Of the 22 people who received write-in votes, Ocasio-Cortez got the most with nine.”
The Daily News adds that write-in votes are not uncommon, “but actually winning a race she wasn’t running for is.” Ocasio-Cortez ultimately decided to decline the Reform Party line, however, since law states that individuals can only be candidates for a single office at a time.
“Shockingly—and I’m told this is not a joke—we have also won a primary in the neighboring 15th Congressional District via write-in campaign on the Reform line!” she tweeted on Tuesday. “While I am honored that so many Bronxites are excited about our campaign, I will remain the Dem nominee for NY-14.”
The victory adds to Ocasio-Cortez’s winning streak in recent weeks. In June, to the shock of many, the 28-year-old first-time politician defeated 10-term Democrat Joe Crowley in the party’s congressional New York primary.
“I cannot put this into words,” she said at the time. “I cannot believe these numbers right now, but I do know that every single person here has worked their butt off to change the future of the Bronx and Queens.”
As previously reported, Ocasio-Cortez will run against Republican candidate Anthony Pappas in the November midterm election. If she wins, she could be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.