{"id":48922,"date":"2026-06-29T11:53:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=48922"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:53:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:53:51","slug":"alexandria-ocasio-cortez-wades-into-tennessee-primary-endorsing-justin-j-pearson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-wades-into-tennessee-primary-endorsing-justin-j-pearson\/","title":{"rendered":"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wades Into Tennessee Primary, Endorsing Justin J. Pearson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The congresswoman has a strong track record of backing winners this cycle \u2014 but she\u2019s emerging from controversy after sitting out key races in her home state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Akela Lacy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

June 25 2026, (TheIntercept.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"UNITED<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., at the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2026. Photo: Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After rattling some<\/strong> observers by staying out<\/a> of a slew of competitive congressional primaries<\/a> in her home state this week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., endorsed a candidate in Tennessee on Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocasio-Cortez is backing Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson<\/a> in the 9th Congressional District, which will be a tough win for Democrats after Republicans scrambled to gerrymander<\/a> it earlier this year thanks to the Supreme Court\u2019s gutting of a key portion<\/a> of the Voting Rights Act. The district covering parts of Memphis and its suburbs is one of more than a dozen<\/a> that Republicans have redrawn at President Donald Trump\u2019s demand to ward off what many in the GOP see as the increasingly likely prospect that they lose both congressional chambers to Democrats in November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An endorsement from democratic socialist Ocasio-Cortez is a coveted stamp of approval for progressive insurgents looking to challenge incumbents or capture open congressional seats. She has endorsed several Democratic primary candidates running for open seats in other states this cycle including Chris Rabb<\/a>, who won his primary in Pennsylvania; Analilia Mejia<\/a>, who won in New Jersey; and Junaid Ahmed, who lost his primary<\/a> in Illinois. But critics raised eyebrows at her decision to stay out of key congressional primaries in New York; she opted instead to endorse a slate<\/a> of democratic socialist candidates in the state Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The endorsement is a major boost to Pearson, who is also backed by Justice Democrats, the progressive group that\u00a0first backed<\/a>\u00a0Ocasio-Cortez in 2018 against longtime incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley, and Sen.\u00a0Bernie Sanders<\/a>, I-Vt. Pearson originally launched his campaign with the intention of ousting two-decade incumbent Rep. Steve Cohen, the last remaining Democrat in Tennessee\u2019s congressional delegation. Cohen dropped out of the race in May after state lawmakers split up his district into three neighboring districts,\u00a0saying<\/a>\u00a0it was \u201cdrawn to beat\u201d him.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tennessee GOP Moves to Decimate Black Voting Power After Supreme Court\u2019s Blessing of Jim Crow<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Observers theorized<\/a> that Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s absence from New York\u2019s congressional primaries reflected a desire not to butt<\/a> heads with Democratic Party leaders who endorsed against leftist challengers, potentially signaling her plans to run for higher office<\/a> in a future cycle. Others argued that she stayed out to split her efforts with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to maximize the left\u2019s political currency in a cycle with historic outside spending<\/a> against their candidates<\/a>. Mamdani emerged as a kingmaker in Tuesday\u2019s elections, backing three congressional candidates who won their primaries on Tuesday: socialists Clare Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, and progressive Brad Lander, and several \u2014 but not all \u2014 of the New York City DSA\u2019s endorsed candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez said<\/a> the left\u2019s wins in New York\u2019s House primaries were part of both \u201ca moment\u201d and \u201ca movement\u201d of voters demanding more from the Democratic Party after major losses in 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Endorsing in the races would have pitted Ocasio-Cortez against her congressional colleagues whose support she might need in a run for higher office, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become House speaker if the Democrats retake the chamber in November. She\u2019s made most of her other endorsements this cycle in open seats with no incumbent, including Rabb, Mejia, Ahmed, Adelita Grijalva in Arizona, Adam Hamawy<\/a> in New Jersey, and Sam Forstag<\/a> in Montana. She endorsed Democratic candidate Randy Villegas<\/a> against the incumbent Republican, Rep. David Valadao, in California. Her former chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti<\/a>, said her decision<\/a> not to endorse him likely contributed to his loss in an open California primary<\/a> to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., by fueling attacks<\/a> from his opponents.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In New York City, Avila Chevalier and Lander ousted incumbents backed by Jeffries and Democratic leaders: Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat and Rep. Dan Goldman. Valdez won her primary in an open seat where retiring Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez had endorsed her preferred successor<\/a>, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Vel\u00e1zquez bemoaned Mamdani<\/a>\u2019s endorsement of Valdez against her pick in the months leading up to the race. And even after their candidates lost on Tuesday, Jeffries<\/a> and other party leaders aired their disappointment<\/a> in Mamdani\u2019s decision to go against them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in Tennessee, Pearson emerged as the frontrunner when the incumbent dropped out. He\u2019s hoping to tap into voters\u2019 frustrations with both parties<\/a> by campaigning on economic change for the working class \u2014 a message that boosted both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders. Share<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019M BEN MUESSIG,<\/u><\/strong> The Intercept\u2019s editor-in-chief. It\u2019s been a devastating year for journalism \u2014 the worst in modern U.S. history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government\u2019s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump\u2019s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Contact the author:<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Akela Lacy<\/a>akela.lacy@theintercept.com<\/a>@akela_lacy<\/a>on X<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The congresswoman has a strong track record of backing winners this cycle \u2014 but she\u2019s emerging from controversy after sitting out key races in her home state. Akela Lacy June 25 2026, (TheIntercept.com) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., at the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2026. Photo: Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1879],"tags":[2118],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48922"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48923,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48922\/revisions\/48923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}