Mitt Romney to enter Congress as Democrat veteran suffers shock defeat
New York: One of the most senior Democrats in Congress has suffered a stunning loss to a 28-year old socialist from the Bronx in one of the first examples of anti-Trump sentiment translating into defeat for the establishment wing of the Democratic party.
Community organiser Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's victory on Tuesday was the most surprising result on a day in which voters in seven US states went to the polls for primary and run-off elections.
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney – who famously attacked Donald Trump as a "phony" and "fraud" during the 2016 election campaign – is set to enter the Senate later this year after easily winning his Republican primary contest in Utah.
In the lead-up to polling day Romney, a former Massachussetts governor, took a more nuanced position on Trump, saying that he agreed with most of the president's domestic policy agenda while promising to speak out against any sexism or racism emanating from the White House.
With 70 per cent of ballots counted on Tuesday night, Romney had won 75 per cent of the vote compared to 25 per cent for Utah state congressman Mike Kennedy, who ran to Romney's right.
In New York's 14th district, an extremely safe Democrat seat that includes parts of the Bronx and Queens, Ocasio-Cortez won 58 per cent of the vote, defeating incumbent Joseph Crowley.
Crowley has been a member of the US Congress since 1999 and is currently the chair of the House Democratic caucus, making him one of the most senior Democrats in the House of Representatives. He was widely seen as a frontrunner to succeed Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic House leader.
Trump delighted in Crowley's defeat on Twitter, saying the congressman was a "hater" who should have been "nicer, and more respectful" to him.
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and former organiser for Bernie Sanders, ran on a proudly left-wing platform that included Medicare for all Americans and regulating Wall Street.
She also called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the department known as ICE. On the final weekend before the election she travelled to Texas to protest the separation of children from their parents who crossed the border illegally.
During the campaign, Ocasio-Cortez argued Crowley had lost touch with his constituents and was too close to corporate donors.
Until now most establishment Democrats, such as California Senator Dianne Feinstein, have seen off challengers who argued the party needed to shift significantly to the left in the age of Trump.
Ocasio-Cortez's victory may encourage other Democrats in left-leaning areas to take a more assertively progressive policy stance.
The Democrats are hoping to seize a majority in the House of Representatives in November on a wave of left-wing enthusiasm.
One of the most closely watched contests will be in New York's 11th congressional district, centred on Staten Island, which is the last Republican-held seat in New York City.
Sitting member Dan Donovan easily fended off a challenge from his predecessor Michael Grimm, a convicted felon who argued Donovan has been insuffficiently loyal to President Trump. He will compete against military veteran Max Rose, who won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday.
ficiently loyal to President Trump. He will compete against military veteran Max Rose, who won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday.
But he added: "I have and will continue to speak out when the president says or does something which is divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions. I do not make this a daily commentary; I express contrary views only when I believe it is a matter of substantial significance."
With Trump's popularity among Republican voters sitting at almost 90 per cent according to a recent poll, most members of Congress have been extremely wary of speaking out against the President and angering the party's base.