Several Democratic incumbents in New York City face challengers from the left in primaries that will be decided next week, but prospects look bleak for the insurgents.
No congressional Democrat has lost a primary in 2018, according to The New York Times, which spoke to candidates Suraj Patel and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of whom are running against incumbents from their own party.
"You'll never eat lunch in this town again if you challenge (13-term New York Rep.) Carolyn Maloney," is what a political consultant warned Patel, as he told the Times.
Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez went to Washington to challenge her opponent, Rep. Joseph Crowley, to a debate, only for Crowley to send a surrogate in his place.
"We have a political culture of intimidation, of favoring, of patronage and of fear and that is no way for a community to be governed," Ocasio-Cortez told the Times.
New York Reps. Eliot Engel and Yvette Clarke also face primary challengers, but all four are heavily favored, according to the Times.
"Any time there's an infusion of new people it's a good thing," Engel told the newspaper. "It doesn't mean you should automatically elect the people.
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