NY-14: On Thursday, New York City Councilman Fernando Cabrera confirmed that he would challenge freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is already one of the most high-profile Democrats in the country, in the June primary.
New York’s 14th District, which includes the East Bronx and northern Queens, is safely blue, but that didn’t stop Cabrera from echoing Ocasio-Cortez’s many conservative critics in his announcement. Cabrera declared, “Socialism doesn’t work. I don’t want it for my children, for my grandchildren,” and he also went after Ocasio-Cortez for backing the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.
Cabrera also took issue with Ocasio-Cortez on more local issues. He told Politico that he first considered running after she opposed Amazon’s planned Queens headquarters, a project that the company ultimately dropped in the face of high-profile local opposition. Cabrera said, “It was staggering to me” that she opposed the $3 billion in tax breaks and subsidies intended for Amazon, and he argued, “We have somebody who literally dismantled the possibility of us having 25,000 jobs, and she has yet to bring any jobs into the district.”
Cabrera, who lives outside the 14th District, also portrayed Ocasio-Cortez as “a no-show in the district.” Cabrera further argued that AOC was the true outsider here, saying, “I’ve been working in the Bronx 32 years,” while, “She came from Yorktown. She’s in D.C., not here. She’s in a luxury apartment over there.”
This seat backed Hillary Clinton 78-20, but Cabrera insisted, “This district is a moderate district,” adding, “If you look at almost every Council member representing that area, they’re moderates and conservatives.” Cabrera himself has a long and ugly record of support for the government of Uganda and its homophobic laws. In 2014, his gay colleagues on the City Council condemned him after a video surfaced of Cabrera saying of Uganda, “Godly people are in government,” and, “Gay marriage is not accepted in this country.”
Cabrera insisted at the time that, “I do not support the persecution of gays and lesbians anywhere, whether it's in Uganda or right here in New York State.” This week, he also said, “I always find it ironic because I have supported every bill, every single bill that has come to the Council that was important to the LGBT caucus.”
Cabrera, who works as a pastor, also made news in 2017 when he said in a sermon that "it's harder being rich than being poor." He responded to the social media backlash by saying of his critics, "I feel honored because they're treating me like Jesus," and, "They did to Jesus the same thing."
While Cabrera is reportedly close to the Bronx Democratic Party, his attempts to win higher office have gone badly in the past. Cabrera challenged state Sen. Jose Gustavo Rivera in the primary in 2014 and lost 59-41, and he lost their rematch two years later by a wider 63-37 spread. In 2017, the last time Cabrera was on the ballot, he took just 55% of the vote as he won renomination to the City Council.
Ocasio-Cortez pulled off a shocking primary victory two years ago against incumbent Joe Crowley, but she’s very much the favorite this time. AOC was the top House fundraiser in the country during the second quarter of 2019, and she raised another $1.43 million over the following three months. Cabrera may be able to raise money from AOC’s many detractors, though this predominantly Republican audience would need to be willing to donate to a Democrat.