AOC is a campaign issue for Mondaire Jones in NY swing district as fiery ads connect Democrat

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t running in the New York suburbs — but she’s become a campaign issue in one of the Empire State’s most hotly contested congressional swing districts.

House Republican Leadership PAC is pushing millions of dollars into TV ads linking Democrat Mondaire Jones to liberal firebrand to Ocasio-Cortez Help first-term GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in the tight race for the lower Hudson Valley’s 17th District.

The 17th District – which covers Rockland, Putnam and parts of northern Westchester and Dutchess counties – has a large Jewish population, which may account for 20% to 25% of its voters. Most of them are staunch supporters of Israel, while Ocasio-Cortez has been a frequent critic.

Lawler and the GOP camp are claiming Jones and Ocasio-Cortez are too far left for the district.

“He is the pride of New York right now, Mondaire Jones,” Ocasio-Cortez is seen saying in a video clip used in a series of 30-second ads, which are funded by the Congressional Leadership Fund PAC.

The narrator screams, “AOC is proud of Mondaire because they share the same radical agenda.”

The clip shows an interview with Jones saying, “We need to end mass incarceration… and defund the police.”

The narrator says, “Jones wanted to defund the police – just like AOC.” “He’ll do anything to make AOC proud.”

CLF said it has reserved $8 million to spend on the race to support Lawler, with AOC playing a heavy role in the ad rotation.

By comparison, Democratic Representative Pat Ryan considers Ocasio-Cortez a campaign asset. She is stumping for Ryan in the swing 18th District, where she faces Republican Alison Esposito, a retired NYPD deputy inspector and commanding officer.

On the other hand, the Democratic Congressional campaign is trying to link Lawler with former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

A 30 second ad shows a clip Trump is calling Lawler “Fantastic” and then throws his vote against abortion rights.

The narrator says, “Maybe Trump thinks Mike Lawler is brilliant because he voted to restrict abortion at least 10 times.” “Really fantastic.”

The Jones campaign criticized Lawler on health care, claiming in an ad that he opposed defunding prescription drugs for seniors and allowing insurance companies to deal with New Yorkers with pre-existing conditions such as cancer and asthma. Objected to stopping discrimination.

Lawler disputed the ads.