AOC Challenging Chuck Schumer Doomed to Fail, Bookmaker Says
A bookmaker has predicted that victory would be unlikely for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) should she challenge Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for his seat in 2022.
Speculation that Ocasio-Cortez could run for Schumer's seat next year grew last week when former President Donald Trump waded into the ongoing battle over President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion "Build Back Better" spending bill.
In an email sent out to supporters on Friday, Trump said he believed that should the bill fail to pass, progressive Democrats would look to increase their power.
"The Progressives gain far more power with the legislation being currently talked about by failing than if it passes," he said.
"It makes them a true powerhouse. Next up, AOC running against Chuck Schumer for his US Senate seat."
Trump has hyped a potential Ocasio-Cortez run for several months and even said in February 2020 that she would "kick his [Schumer's] ass."
Ocasio-Cortez has played down any speculation that she would run for Schumer's seat, although she has not explicitly ruled it out.
In August, Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview on CNN: "I know there's a lot of people who do not believe that, but I really, I can't operate the way that I operate and do the things that I do in politics while trying to be, aspiring to other things or calculating to other things."
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has priced Ocasio-Cortez at 10-1 to take Schumer's seat.
A Paddy Power spokesperson told Newsweek: "Ex-President Donald Trump may be optimistic about the chances of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez contesting Chuck Schumer's Senate seat, but our odds makers don't share his view.
"While we do hate to rain on Mr Trump's parade, Paddy Power make Alexandria a 10/1 shot to oust the current Senate Leader from his position in 2022, and it's even less likely that she will mount a challenge before the year is out."
Newsweek has contacted Ocasio-Cortez and Schumer for comment.
The Democrats also find themselves facing the biggest challenge they have encountered since winning the race to the White House last year.
Progressive and moderate Democrats are raging a heated battle over the future of President Joe Biden's proposed "Build Back Better" legislation.
Ocasio-Cortez has fought to push progressive elements in the bill, including expanded Medicare, higher taxes for richer Americans and action on climate change.
But more conservative Democrats, such as Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), have said the bill is too expensive in its current form.
