AOC getting grip in possible primary against Schumer

When the GOP wanted to pass the short-term funding bill, many Democrats wanted Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to block the bill, but Schumer allowed a procedural vote to block the filibuster.

Ever since then, there have been calls to have Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) primary Schumer, but I never really thought that was likely… until now.

Keep the Government Open

Schumer managed to get the support of a handful of Democrats Senators that would allow the GOP to break the filibuster with a procedural vote. When it came time to vote on the actual budget, the Dems did not support it, but the GOP only needed 51 votes, and it passed.

Schumer believed, and rightfully so, that if the government shut down, the Dems would take the blame, and he did not want to hand that gift to Trump, which is why he allowed the GOP to break the filibuster.

After the bill passed and people were calling for Schumer’s head, he responded, "I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country, to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open, and not shut it down."

Schumer claimed the caucus was on the same page, but that was not the case. There were more than a few in the party calling for Schumer to step down, which he said he would never do.

Gotta Go

There have been many calls to replace Schumer in leadership and to primary him in his 2028 Senate race.

Charlamagne Tha God is one of the liberal pundits that is calling for not only Schumer, but also Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), to step down from his leadership role.

Last week, Beto O’Rourke was appearing with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz at a local town hall, and he became the latest to demand that Schumer step down over allowing the GOP to pass the legislation.

O’Rourke told the crowd, “Schumer needs to step aside,” at which point Walz looked stunned, but the crowd erupted in cheers.

AOC Takes the Lead

The main reason that I did not believe AOC would run against Schumer is because I believe it would be 50-50 at best if she ran, and there is no way she will risk her House seat in that type of race, but recent polls are suggesting differently.

Data for Progress just released a poll that may have AOC thinking she could take this race, as the left-leaning think tank had her at 55%-36% over Schumer.

Only 9% were undecided in the poll, so even if Schumer took all of those votes, he is still not within striking distance of AOC.

Mind you, this is just one poll, and we are more than two years away from Schumer’s seat coming up for re-election, so I would not really take this too seriously just yet, but it is a clear warning shot for Schumer. And this is definitely something we need to keep an eye once we get past the mid-term election.