>>> AND GOOD EVENING ONCE AGAIN FROM OUR NBC NEWS HEADQUARTERS
HERE IN NEW YORK.
DAY 523 OF THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION.
ADMINISTRATION. WE’RE GOING TO HAVE THE LATEST
ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE
SUPREME COURT TODAY IN JUST A
MOMENT, BUT WE WANT TO BEGIN
WITH SOME BREAKING POLITICAL
NEWS ON THIS TUESDAY PRIMARY
NIGHT.
NIGHT. IT IS EASILY THE MOST SHOCKING
RESULT OF THIS POLITICAL SEASON
THUS FAR.
THUS FAR. VETERAN NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESSMAN JOE CROWLEY HAS GONE
DOWN TO PRIMARY DEFEAT TONIGHT
AT THE HANDS OF A HARD-LEFT,
28-YEAR-OLD OPPONENT NAMED
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ. THIS IS HER FIRST CAMPAIGN OF
ANY KIND FOR POLITICAL OFFICE.
CROWLEY HAS BEEN IN CONGRESS
REPRESENTING PARTS OF QUEENS AND
THE BRONX COMING UP ON 20 YEARS,
AND HERE’S THE IMPORTANT PART.
HE’S NUMBER FOUR ON THE
DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP CHART.
CROWLEY HAD ASPIRATIONS TO
SOMEDAY BE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.
AND AFTER HE SENT A STAND-IN TO
REPRESENT HIM AT A RECENT
DEBATE, "THE NEW YORK TIMES"
EDITORIAL BOARD WROTE, IF YOU
WANT TO BE SPEAKER, DON’T TAKE
VOTERS FOR GRANTED.
CROWLEY’S DEFEAT WILL INEVITABLY
BE COMPARED TO THAT OF ERIC
KANTER, FORMERLY OF THE GOP
LEADERSHIP.
LEADERSHIP. HE TOO DID NOT TEND TO A
POLITICAL BRUSH FIRE BACK HOME
IN HIS DISTRICT.
HE IS NOW A PRIVATE CITIZEN,
WHICH IS APPARENTLY WHAT
CONGRESSMAN JOE CROWLEY WILL
BECOME IN JANUARY.
AGAIN, EASILY THE BIGGEST STORY
TO EMERGE FROM THIS PRIMARY
NIGHT.
NIGHT. FOR MORE, WE HAVE OUR NATIONAL
POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, STEVE
KORNACKI, AT THE BIG BOARD.
AND WITH US FROM UTAH, NBC NEWS
CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT KASIE
HUNT, WHO TRAVELED WEST TO
COVERED THE MITT ROMNEY RACE.
STEVE, WE’LL BEGIN IN THE STUDIO
WITH YOU.
WITH YOU. JUST TO UNDERSCORE THIS,
CROWLEY’S JOB FOR THE DEMOCRATIC
CAUCUS IN THE HOUSE WAS THE HEAD
OF MESSAGING.
OF MESSAGING. SO MUCH FOR THAT, I GUESS.
>> YEAH, AND YOU PUT THE RANK
THERE, NUMBER FOUR.
BUT THAT’S SOMEDAY WHEN HE MIGHT
BECOME THE SPEAKER.
THERE WERE FOLKS WHO THOUGHT IT
COULD BE LIKE NEXT YEAR.
IF THERE WERE SOME SITUATION
WHERE THE DEMOCRATS GOT THE
MAJORITY, WHERE THERE WERE A LOT
WHO HADN’T COMMITTED TO PELOSI,
THAT CROWLEY HAD BASICALLY LINED
UP TO BE THE NEXT IN LINE WHEN
PELOSI GOES.
PELOSI GOES. AND NOW LOSING IN HIS HOME
DISTRICT, YOU’RE RIGHT.
THIS IS A SEISMIC UPSET.
OBVIOUSLY THE UPSET OF THE
SEASON.
SEASON. SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT HERE.
WE SAY CROWLEY WAS A BIG SHOT IN
WASHINGTON WITH HIS PARTY.
HIS DISTRICT, YOU CAN’T SEE IT,
IT’S SUCH A SMALL AREA
GEOGRAPHICALLY HERE.
GEOGRAPHICALLY HERE. QUEENS, THE BRONX, THOSE ARE THE
TWO COMPONENTS OF THE DISTRICT.
HE WAS THE PARTY BOSS FOR LACK
OF A BETTER TERM.
THE QUEENS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC
CHAIRMAN.
CHAIRMAN. HIS MENTOR HELD THE JOB.
HE TOOK OVER FOR HIS MENTOR.
HE WAS THE PARTY BOSS LOCALLY.
THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO INSULATE
HIM.
HIM. HIS CHALLENGER HERE COMING FROM
THE LEFT, ALEXANDRIA
OCASIO-CORTEZ, A MEMBER OF THE
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF
AMERICA.
AMERICA. SHE CAMPAIGNED THIS WEEK FOR THE
ABOLITION OF I.C.E. IN RESPONSE
TO ALL OF THE NEWS AROUND THE
BORDER.
BORDER. SHE HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT
ISSUE.
ISSUE. NOT AN ISSUE YOU HEAR A LOT OF
DEMOCRATS TALKING ABOUT.
BEATING HIM BY DOUBLE DIGITS.
CROWLEY REPRESENTS A LITTLE BIT
OF WHAT THE PAST WAS FOR THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY. THIS PART OF NEW YORK, HIS
DISTRICT, THINK OF THE SHOW "ALL
IN THE FAMILY" BACK IN THE ’70s.
ARCHIE BUNKER.
ARCHIE BUNKER. THEY USED TO CALL THEM THE WHITE
ETHNICS, ITALIAN, IRISH,
CULTURALLY CONSERVATIVE, WORKING
CLASS.
CLASS. THAT USED TO BE SORT OF THE
PROTOTYPE FOR THIS DISTRICT.
THIS DISTRICT HAS CHANGED.
THE COUNTRY HAS CHANGED.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS
CHANGED.
CHANGED. THIS IS NOW A DISTRICT THAT IS
THREE QUARTERS NON-WHITE.
AND THERE WAS A DEMOGRAPHIC
CHANGE THERE, AND CROWLEY KIND
OF REPRESENTED WHAT IT USED TO
BE.
BE. OCASIO-CORTEZ, WHAT THE DISTRICT
MORE AND MORE BECOMING.
AND MAYBE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
TOO, BRIAN.
TOO, BRIAN. >> STEVE, YOU’RE SO RIGHT.
THIS MAY BE THE MOST DIVERSE
PIECE OF POLITICAL REAL ESTATE
ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY WITH THE
MIXTURE OF ETHNIC GROUPS AGAIN
IN QUEENS AND PART OF THE BRONX.
STEVE, WE’LL BE COMING BACK TO
YOU.
YOU. LET’S GO OUT TO UTAH AND KASIE
HUNT, WHO IS STANDING BY.
KASIE, I HAVE TO TELL YOU THE
PRESIDENT TWEETED ABOUT THIS
CROWLEY RACE TONIGHT.
AS WE READ IT OFF THE SCREEN,
WOW, BIG TRUMP HATER CONGRESSMAN
JOE CROWLEY WHO MANY EXPECTED
WAS GOING TO TAKE NANCY PELOSI’S
PLACE JUST LOST HIS PRIMARY
ELECTION.
ELECTION. IN OTHER WORDS, HE’S OUT.
THIS IS A BIG ONE THAT NO ONE
SAW HAPPENING.
SAW HAPPENING. PERHAPS HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN
NICER AND MORE RESPECTFUL TO HIS
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. WHAT THE PRESIDENT DOESN’T SEEM
TO REALIZE IS CROWLEY WAS BEATEN
FROM HIS OWN LEFT, BUT IT
DOESN’T MATTER.
DOESN’T MATTER. WE HAVE THIS, AS STEVE PUT IT,
SEISMIC RESULT IN THE HOUSE
TONIGHT.
TONIGHT. >> Reporter: THAT’S RIGHT,
BRIAN.
BRIAN. IT IS SEISMIC.
YES, I DO THINK THE PRESIDENT
HAS DIAGNOSED THIS PROBLEM
INCORRECTLY.
INCORRECTLY. THIS WAS A SITUATION QUITE
FRANKLY A LOT OF THINGS
CONTRIBUTED TO IT, BUT IT SEEMS
AS THOUGH -- AND YOU READ THIS
OFF THE TOP OF THE SHOW -- THIS
IS A CASE WHERE FRANKLY JOE
CROWLEY WAS NOT PAYING ENOUGH
ATTENTION TO WHAT WAS GOING ON
BACK HOME AT A TIME WHEN HE WAS
MORE FOCUSED ON THE NATIONAL
DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND WHAT HE WAS
DOING IN WASHINGTON.
AND, BRIAN, I JUST CANNOT
OVERSTATE WHAT A SEISMIC SHIFT
THIS IS INSIDE THE HOUSE
LEADERSHIP.
LEADERSHIP. THIS IS SOMEBODY WHO WAS
INCREDIBLY CLOSE WITH NANCY
PELOSI, WIDELY SEEN AS HER
LIKELY SUCCESSOR IN THE EVENT
THAT SHE WERE TO DECIDE TO STEP
DOWN.
DOWN. HE’S VERY WELL LIKED BY HIS
COLLEAGUES ACROSS THE BOARD.
HE’S MUCH YOUNGER THAN THE
CURRENT LEADERSHIP IN THE HOUSE
ALTHOUGH CLEARLY A DIFFERENT
GENERATION FROM THE WOMAN WHO
HAS BEATEN HIM TONIGHT.
SHE WILL ACTUALLY BE, IF SHE IS
ELECTED IN THE FALL, THE
YOUNGEST WOMAN EVER ELECTED TO
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AT
THE AGE OF 28.
AND THIS REALLY IS THE KIND OF
WARNING SHOT THAT WE HEARD, FOR
EXAMPLE, BACK IN 2014 WHERE ERIC
KANTER, THE NUMBER TWO
REPUBLICAN IN THE HOUSE, LOST
HIS SEAT TO AN UPSTART
CONSERVATIVE WHO HAD THE SUPPORT
OF CONSERVATIVE MEDIA AND
CONSERVATIVE MEDIA FIGURES.
THE SAME IS TRUE HERE FOR
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ. SHE HAD SUPPORT FROM A LOT OF
PROGRESSIVE PUBLICATIONS THAT
HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON AND WRITING
ABOUT HER.
ABOUT HER. SHE HAD A VERY STRONG VIRAL
BIOGRAPHICAL AD.
BIOGRAPHICAL AD. THEN IF YOU GO THROUGH HER
TWITTER FEED, SHE TALKS ABOUT
HOW SHE REALLY SPENT TIME DAY
IN, DAY OUT FOR CLOSE TO TWO
YEARS IN THE DISTRICT, TALKING
TO PEOPLE WHO KNEW HER FATHER,
TALKING TO MEMBERS OF HER
COMMUNITY, A COMMUNITY THAT HAS
EVOLVED AND GROWN.
AND AS YOU POINTED OUT AND STEVE
POINTED OUT, REALLY CHANGED THE
CHARACTER OF THE DISTRICT.
BUT I THINK YOU WANT TO THINK
ABOUT HOW THIS IS GOING TO BE
READ GOING FORWARD.
THERE ARE GOING TO BE A LOT MORE
DEMOCRATS, I THINK, WHO ARE
GOING TO LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT
WHETHER THEY ARE BEING TOO
COMPLACENT.
COMPLACENT. I THINK THERE’S GOING TO BE A
LOT OF RECONSIDERATION AGAIN OF
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
ESTABLISHMENT AND WHETHER QUITE
FRANKLY THE LEADERSHIP OF THE
HOUSE AS IT STANDS NOW SHOULD
REALLY CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT
THEY NEED TO MAKE A CHANGE
BEFORE THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS.
NANCY PELOSI HAS BEEN VERY
STEADFAST AND VERY STRIDENT THAT
SHE IS SOMEBODY WHO GETS THINGS
DONE LEGISLATIVELY, THAT HER
UNPOPULARITY IS SOMETHING THAT
JUST COMES WITH THE TERRITORY,
THAT SHE IS GOING TO BE OUT
THERE CAMPAIGNING AND RAISING
MONEY.
MONEY. I THINK THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE A
LOT OF PEOPLE TO RAISE THEIR
EYEBROWS AND SAY, HEY, MAYBE WE
NEED TO READ THIS MESSAGE IN A
DIFFERENT WAY.
DIFFERENT WAY. NOW, OF COURSE THE FLIP SIDE OF
THE ARGUMENT IS FOR THE MEMBERS
WHO ARE IN THOSE 23 SWING SEATS
THAT DEMOCRATS WILL NEED IF THEY
ACTUALLY WANT TO TAKE BACK THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND
THIS MESSAGE IS NOT NECESSARILY
ONE THAT IS GOING TO MAKE IT
EASIER FOR PEOPLE IN MIDWESTERN
STATES TO WIN.
THIS WOMAN IS A DEMOCRATIC
SOCIALIST WHO RAN ON A PLATFORM
OF ABOLISHING I.C.E.
THAT IS MUSIC TO PROGRESSIVES IN
URBAN AREAS EARS, NOT SO MUCH IN
SOME OF THESE HEARTLAND AREAS.
>> THANKS TO KASIE HUNT.
WE SHOULD PROBABLY REFERENCE
WHAT’S GOING ON IN OREM, UTAH.
THAT’S WHAT A 75% MITT ROMNEY
PRIMARY VICTORY LOOKS LIKE
BEHIND KASIE WHO IS THERE TO
COVER THAT.
COVER THAT. AND LO AND BEHOLD THE POLITICAL
NEWS BROKE OUT IN NEW YORK
TONIGHT.