It will be an all-Bronx general election for New York’s 14th Congressional District seat after Throggs Neck native Tina Forte secured the Republican nomination defeating Queens native Desi Joseph Cuellar in a primary by a 67%-31% margin Tuesday.
Forte thanked her Bronx and Queens supporters on Twitter Tuesday night after clinching the nomination, before looking ahead to her general election opponent — Progressive incumbent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“New Yorkers will no longer accept high taxes, rising crime, bad schools, and infringements on our freedom,” Forte posted on Twitter. “AOC has supported the same radical policies ruining New York. Enough is enough.”
According to unofficial tallies by the New York State Board of Elections on Wednesday, Forte had won 1,530 votes compared to Cuellar’s 722, with all 434 elections districts reporting.
In total, 2,298 votes were cast in the NY-14 primary — there are 29,964 active Republican voters in the district.
The 14th District includes the eastern part of the Bronx and part of north-central Queens, and its current seatholder is the popular Progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Forte — who participated in President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally and other activities around Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 — is a longshot to unseat AOC in November due to the incumbent’s high-profile status in local and national politics and the overwhelming Democratic voter registration advantage in the district.
Seeking a third term in Congress, AOC’s path to November was uncontested within Democratic ranks, and it continues a successful streak for the U.S. House progressive bloc, known as the “Squad.”
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman cruised to victory in a three-person primary in the majority Westchester 16th Congressional District, while Reps. Cori Bush, of Missouri, Rashida Tlaib, of Michigan, and Ilhan Omar, of Minnesota, were victorious earlier this month in primary challenges from centrist Democrats.
In 2020, AOC defeated a field of primary challengers — Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Badrun Khan and Sam Sloan — receiving 75% of the total vote. Her last general election was also a lopsided contest, when she defeated Conservative John Cumming by a 71%-27% margin.
-Christian Falcone contributed to this report
This article was updated on Nov. 1 at 5:19 p.m.
Reach Robbie Sequeira at rsequeira@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4599. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
