Two members of the coalition of congressional representatives who call themselves “The Squad” have handily won reelection to their House seats.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) defeated Republican challenger John Cummings, a 60-year-old Catholic high school teacher and a former police officer in the New York Police Department.
The Associated Press called the race at 10:09 p.m. Eastern Time, at which point Ocasio-Cortez was ahead by 37 points.
“Serving NY-14 and fighting for working-class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege, & responsibility of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a tweet to her supporters. “Thank you to the Bronx & Queens for re-electing me to the House despite the millions spent against us, & trusting me to represent you once more.”
The congresswoman has hinted that she may someday run for higher office, possibly in the Senate or elsewhere.
“I don’t know if I’m really going to be staying in the House forever, or if I do stay in the House, what that would look like,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a recent interview with Vanity Fair.
Another member of The Squad, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), also won a definitive victory against her opponent, Republican candidate Lacy Johnson. Johnson was not seen as likely to defeat Omar, although he had raised a large sum of campaign cash.
Omar tweeted appreciation to her supporters, emphasizing the larger political battles ahead.
“We are building a movement that sees my struggle as inherently tied to your struggle, and sees a world where all workers can be uplifted. Together,” Omar wrote. “Today’s vote — the results of this election — are not the end. This is just the beginning.”
The four members of The Squad (which also include Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan) have pressed Democratic Party leaders to support more progressive proposals, including Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and a rethinking of U.S. foreign policy stances.
Democrats are expected to win control of the House of Representatives for a second term in a row, after doing so in 2018, according to projections from at least three television networks. It also appears that the party will be expanding its majority in that legislative chamber, winning more seats in suburban areas across the country.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.