Ex-banker challenging Ocasio-Cortez in Democratic primary

The election of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to Congress in 2018 created massive political upheaval after she unseated veteran congressman Joe Crowley, who had at one point been tapped to replace Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader of the House.

This summer, a former Wall Street banker is looking to do to Ocasio-Cortez what she did to Crowley,

Marty Dolan, 66, who spent 30 years working for Jefferies Financial Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and other financial firms, is challenging Ocasio-Cortez for her 14th Congressional District seat in New York, a position she has safely held for the last six years, representing a district Dolan says she has done little to help improve.

Should he be successful, it would be an earth-shattering blow to the Democratic Socialists of America, who have a large foothold in the city, including in the Bronx and northern Queens, which the District 14 seat covers.

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But Dolan says Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow socialists have gone too far, blasting their approach to the economy, crime and the illegal migrant crisis. 

“We are all for the ‘progress’ implied by the word progressive, however, within the progressive movement, there are radicals whose influence on the Democratic Party is overweight,” Dolan wrote on his campaign website.

“The impact in NYC is obvious: bail reform a disaster, the National Guard in the subway, toothpaste locked up in drugstores but criminals running free, scarce resources directed to (non-sanctuary) immigrants coming from all over the world.” 

He said these challenges must be addressed in the context of a runaway $34 trillion federal debt and the city’s 14% marginal tax rate. 

“Losing 500,000 taxpayers is unsustainable: fixing this must be our overwhelming priority,” Dolan wrote. 

“The radicals can’t deliver more than breadcrumbs when they ignore that the primary breadwinners are leaving and brush off taxpayer concerns in favor of abstract populist ideologies. Enough is enough.”

Dolan is the first person to challenge the influential “Squad” member in four years and is looking to gather the necessary signatures to land a spot on the ballot for this year’s Democratic primary.

It will be a Herculean effort to dethrone Ocasio-Cortez, who became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at age 29. She has instant name recognition and pop culture fame among young voters. She remains popular among her constituents, although Dolan says that popularity may no longer be as strong.

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“There’s a lot of people who, even in Queens and the Bronx, think, ‘What has she done for us?’” Dolan told Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, Ocasio-Cortez had $5.7 million in cash on hand as of Jan. 1, while Dolan’s campaign has raised just $58,000 so far, $55,000 of which is from loans Dolan made to his own campaign.

Dolan earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and has worked extensively in the global risk insurance sector, helping firms recover from the global liability crisis, the World Trade Center attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the global financial crisis, according to his website.

He grew up in Westchester County, like Ocasio-Cortez.

Dolan called out Ocasio-Cortez’s efforts to help successfully stop Amazon from locating a new sprawling headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, and her support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to Bloomberg.

He also accused Ocasio-Cortez of “importing immigrants and exporting decent contributing taxpayers,” referring to residents who have fled to Florida and other states. The city has cared for more than 170,000 migrants, and the mayor estimates the bill will easily exceed $10 billion.

“There’s been nobody who’s more in favor of immigration than AOC, and there’s been no worse thing that’s happened in New York in the last year,” Dolan told Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, Dolan’s platform includes plans to advocate for a new federal value-added tax and an additional luxury goods sales tax. The money would be used to reduce the national debt and state pension liabilities and would allow states like New York to lower income taxes. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment but did not receive a reply.