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The Democratic House party fighting for one of the most competitive districts in the nation has fallen silent after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has expressed support for his campaign.
Ocasio-Cortez, a left-wing activist with growing influence in the Democratic Party, congratulated former Biden chief of staff Cait Conley on her first victory on social media Wednesday.
“I look forward to working together as a team as we fight for working families across New York,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
This position also celebrated the Democratic Alliance that wants to succeed Rep. Jerrold Nadler, DN.Y., and three socialist candidates supported by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
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Brad Lander, former New York City administrator and US House candidate, stood with Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont Independent, at the Get Out The Vote rally at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn on June 18, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Conley has yet to comment on Ocasio-Cortez’s support or speak to a group of three far-left voters – longtime New York mayor Brad Lander, State Assembly member Claire Valdez, DN.Y., and activist Darializa Avila-Chevalier – who called for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and criticized the Israeli Congress.
Conley’s general election opponent, Rep. Mike Lawler, RN.Y., insists he has to take responsibility for it.
“Which one, Cait: do you reject the AOC and the candidates who want to abolish ICE, defund the police, and tear down our borders, or do you embrace them?” Lawler’s campaign manager Ciro Riccardi said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“The Hudson Valley needs an answer, and so far all we’ve heard is your terrible silence,” he continued.
Lander and Avila-Chevalier have previously called for the police to be withdrawn, and they continue to advocate for an end to prisons and a halt to all deportations. Avila-Chevalier also sent a tweet denying Israel’s right to exist and helped form a pro-Palestinian group at Columbia University that called for the “complete elimination of Western civilization.”
The trio supported by Mamdani is expected to double the left-wing group known as the “Squad,” an informal group closely aligned with Ocasio-Cortez, who also supports the abolition of ICE.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Conley’s campaign for comment.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., leader of the left wing of the Democratic Party, expressed support for Democratic House candidate Cait Conley after she won the primary on Tuesday. (Photos by Anna Moneymaker/Getty; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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The scrutiny comes after Conley avoided criticizing the Socialist candidate during an interview with MS NOW on Thursday.
Asked about socialist candidates who support prison abolition and suggest the United States is responsible for 9/11, Conley talked about his background rather than answering the question directly.
“I joined the Army and went to West Point because of 9/11 because I watched the suffering and pain that we as a nation, we as a state, we as the Hudson Valley, experienced that day,” Conley said. “And then when you talk about the American government’s responsibility to the people, it’s to keep them safe.”
“While you know, people are elected down in New York City, New York-17, Democratic voters chose a West Point grad and a 16-year military veteran to be their representative in this fight,” added Conley, referring to him.
Aber Kawas, a social activist and Palestinian activist who won the Democratic primary for a seat in the New York State Senate on Tuesday, appeared to justify 9/11 at the time. 2017 video resurfaced.
Conley has faced scrutiny for his role in former President Joe Biden’s security team. Lawler has argued that he downplayed allegations of his involvement in the ousting of the former president of Afghanistan in 2021, which coincided with his tenure on the National Security Council.
The battleground race is expected to be one of the most heated races in the country, and Republicans nationally are expected to aggressively defend Lawler’s bid for a third term in the House.
Rep. Mike Lawler, RN.Y., leaves the US Capitol after the week’s final vote on Jan. 9, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the contest a “toss up” after it swung the race in favor of the Democrats earlier this year.
In 2024, former Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly won a purple district, where Democrats hold a large voter registration advantage.
