Sonoma County congressmen assess Democratic upset in New York

The surprise win for a 28-year-old Latina activist over a 10-term incumbent in a New York congressional Democratic primary Tuesday may simply be down to the differences between the two candidates as people, Rep. Jared Huffman said Wednesday.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a political newcomer who stunned Rep. Joe Crowley in the Queens-Bronx district, came across as “an extremely compelling candidate” - a young, hard-working, articulate woman - “in a year when people are looking for change,” said Huffman, a San Rafael Democrat who represents the solidly blue North Coast.

News reports cited Ocasio-Cortez’s socialist affiliation and far-left platform, promoting universal health care and abolition of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. But Huffman said she and Crowley, the fourth-ranking House Democrat, were not far apart on the issues.

“The differences on policy were minimal,” said Huffman, a liberal environmentalist who considered Crowley, a senior figure in the House Democratic caucus, “a really great person and a good colleague.”

Ocasio-Cortez, he said, “was up against the establishment in every sense” and stressed her hometown appeal. Her pitch to voters, he said, was “we need somebody who looks like me, a Latina who lives in the district.”

Crowley had moved his family to Washington, D.C., Huffman said. Both he and Thompson represent parts of Sonoma County.

Crowley outspent his challenger by 10 to 1, but his engagement in party leadership chores may have cost him a close connection with his constituents, Huffman said.

“The minute you lose that connection you’re at risk in this business,” he said.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who came to Congress along with Crowley in 1998, agreed that politicians need to stay close to their home turf.

“Bottom line: you need to be in your district,” Thompson said. “If you are, you win.”

High rank in Congress means little to the folks back home, he said.

Crowley was widely regarded as a possible successor to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, but Thompson noted that Tom Foley, a former House speaker who represented Washington’s fifth district for 30 years, lost to a Republican in 1994.

While Foley’s district had grown more conservative during his tenure, Crowley’s district had shifted from a largely Irish-American population to a multi-racial area in which whites are less than half the population, Thompson noted.

Pundits are questioning whether Ocasio-Cortez’s upset spells trouble for Pelosi, but Thompson said her fate hinges on the November elections.

If Democrats take over the House, Pelosi and other leaders will likely be rewarded, he said. But if the party falls short “there will be new leadership throughout.”

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.