Who's on the sticking-with-Crowley bandwagon?
Despite losing his Democratic congressional primary to democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and insisting he is no longer running, Rep. Joseph Crowley has received at least two endorsements in the past two weeks – with both citing Israel as an issue.
Rep. Joseph Crowley at Ground Zero in 2015. a katz/Shutterstock
Rep. Joseph Crowley insist he’s no longer running for Congress, but that hasn’t stopped some from supporting him.
Despite losing his Democratic congressional primary to democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Crowley will still appear on the ballot on the Working Families Party line in November. And though the congressman has said he fully supports Ocasio-Cortez, Crowley has nonetheless received at least two endorsements in the past two weeks.
On Wednesday, the Jewish Voice published an editorial in support of Crowley, calling Ocasio-Cortez a “hate America, anti-Israel candidate.” And on July 18, former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman write an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal urging voters to elect Crowley because he believes Ocasio-Cortez’s beliefs are “so far from the mainstream” that she will make it harder for Congress to stop fighting. Lieberman criticized what he called her "reflexive criticism" of Israel, among other views.
Even former FBI Director James Comey weighed in on Sunday, albeit indirectly, pleading on Twitter that Democrats not “lose your minds and rush to the socialist left.”
Lieberman’s piece prompted a rebuttal of sorts from WFP National Chairman Dan Cantor, who urged people not to vote for Crowley, the third party’s candidate on the ballot, while saying that nominating him was a mistake.
Any support for Crowley now will likely have little to no effect in the November general election, but it does show that his choice to stay on the WFP line is at least keeping him in the conversation.