US elections 2024: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez easily wins reelection in New York

US Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won reelection in the solidly Democratic 14th district of New York on Tuesday. 

Cortez defeated Republican challenger Tina Forte by more than 30 points.

Cortez is a prominent member of the "Squad", the small cadre of progressive lawmakers that first came to Congress in 2018.

The Squad has faced a dilemma in responding to Israel’s war on Gaza, as its members tried to balance between criticising Israel and endorsing the Biden-Harris administration during the 2024 US presidential election cycle despite their military support for the US’s closest Middle East ally in its war on Gaza.

Cortez, along with Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for US president. But Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress and a key figure in the group, refused to endorse the Democratic candidate. 

Cortez angered many pro-Palestinian voices at the grassroots level of the Democratic Party for saying she was going to support Biden for reelection before he dropped out of the race despite his military support for Israel. 

Biden’s decision to step aside in favour of his vice president gave Ocasio-Cortez space to step up criticism of Israel and the US leader while supporting Harris. Cortez's distinction of the two has infuriated many pro-Palestinian progressives who see Harris and Biden as being cut from the same cloth. 

“The horrors unfolding in northern Gaza are the result of a completely unrestrained Netanyahu gov, fully armed by the Biden admin while food aid is blocked and patients are bombed in hospitals,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on the social media platform X in October. 

And Ocasio Cortez has been criticised on the left for her approach to the war on Gaza, which has so far killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and left much of the enclave in ruins.

In July, the Democratic Socialists of America released a statement in July saying it would not be endorsing Ocasio Cortez due to her congressional record on Gaza, Palestine, and Israel.

Cortez is generally considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, but her appeal wasn’t enough to lift other Squad members, who failed to win primary races earlier this year. 

Cortez campaigned heavily for Jamaal Bowman, a former member of the Squad who lost his primary election in June to the more centrist Democrat, George Latimer. The latter's campaign was flooded with millions of dollars from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), a pro-Israel lobbying group.

Bowman accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and was an early proponent of a ceasefire in Gaza. While his actions were not deemed strong enough for many pro-Palestinian voices, they also upset his Democratic pro-Israel constituents, resulting in a loss.

Despite pro-Palestinian anger at Cortez, among progressives as a whole, she is considered solidly on the left on social and economic issues.

After Bowman's defeat, Cortez, who goes by AOC, slammed Aipac. 

“I think we need to have a real conversation about the AIPAC,” she said. “I think that what we do need to have a real conversation about is how a Republican - primarily Republican and largely Republican-financed - organization is playing and dumping money and playing an extremely divisive role in the Democratic Party.”

Cortez's primary challenge over the summer, which she easily defeated, came from the centrist wing of the Democratic Party. Her opponent, Marty Dolan, criticised Cortez over illegal immigration and New York City’s “sanctuary” status.