Jay Jacobs, the Chair of the New York State Democratic Committee, issued on Saturday a stern warning to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez .
In an interview with the New York Post , Jacobs warned the congresswoman against launching a primary challenge against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer .
Jacobs argued that a race between Ocasio-Cortez and Schumer would harm both candidates’ careers and also described Schumer as a “progressive.”
“I think it would be a primary driven by ambition more than by need. Chuck Schumer has been a progressive force in the state for decades,” he said.
“She has a constituency that admires her and supports her, and they’re in her community, and I think it would be a loss for them if she were to do that.”
Jacobs said that Ocasio-Cortez would “absolutely” lose a race against Schumer and added that he would not mind having a meeting with the congresswoman.
“We’ve never met. I would look forward to doing that. I am open to that at any time,” he stated.
It has long been speculated that Ocasio-Cortez is thinking about challenging Schumer in 2022. The rumors intensified earlier this year after she refused to rule out the possibility.
In an October interview with Vanity Fair , she suggested that her ambitions extend beyond representing her district in the House of Representatives.
Furthermore, earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez — a rising left-wing star who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the presidential race — said that she would like to see “new leadership in the Democratic Party.”
Schumer has spent years leading Senate Democrats. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California has led their colleagues in the lower chamber.
Interestingly, President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that Ocasio-Cortez could oust Schumer in the near future, once saying that she would “kick his a**.”
In recent weeks, Ocasio-Cortez has faced intense pressure from left-wing activists. Comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore launched a campaign urging the congresswoman to withhold her vote for Pelosi as speaker unless she agrees to bring Medicare for All for a vote.
Dore and others claimed that now is the time to put pressure on Democratic leaders because millions of Americans have lost their jobs and health insurance amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has devastated the economy.
Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against the idea, suggesting that forcing a vote on single-payer legislation would not accomplish much. She said that House progressives should focus on other issues and push for legislation that would increase the minimum wage at the federal level.