John Cummings
John Cummings is an American teacher, who put himself forward to challenge a popular Congressional Representative in the 2020 election. Cummings, a former Police Officer, challenged Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez for New York's 14th Congressional District.[1][2]
Cummings worked in the Police Department's Harbor Unit.[3]
Cummings has taught Civics at St. Raymond High School for Boys, becoming a teacher after retiring from the New York Police Department after an on-the-job injury.[4] He graduated from the school in his youth.
The New York Post reported that Cummings announced his candidacy in April 2019, less than three months after his opponent took office, after winning the support of a "mystery multi-millionaire backer".[5] The New York Post described Cummings as a "talk radio producer".
Cummings announced his candidacy on the nationally broadcast Fox and Friends, on July 17, 2019.[3][6] He was only the 2nd Republican challenging a Democrat to put themselves forward as a candidate. Although other Republicans considered running in 2019, he was unopposed at the Republican primary in August 2020.[5][7]
Ocasio-Cortez's re-election campaign has raised a total of $30 million, while Cummings's campaign has raised a total of 9.6 million.[1][8] But in August, September and October of 2020 his campaign out-raised hers, raising $5.6 million to her $4 million. The New York Times called this a "torrent of donations", and reported most of his donors came from outside New York state. They attributed this out-of-state support to the intense scrutiny Ocasio-Cortez triggers, and quoted Tom Doherty a Republican Party strategist, who said:
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Chapin D. Fay, his campaign manager, formerly a press secretary for Governor George Pataki, acknowledged, “I just sensed that national fund-raising against someone like A.O.C. would be successful.”[1]
Cummings's campaign hired Lincoln Strategy Group, Big Dog Strategies and Smart Media Group.[1]
Ocasio-Cortez first went to Congress in 2018 after winning selection as the Democratic candidate over long-term incumbent Joe Crowley who was more conservative than she was.[1] Cummings says he is trying to win the votes of "Joe Crowley Democrats". He told voters that Ocasio-Cortez's national profile had come at the cost of neglecting her constituent's needs.
Cummings has gone on record as supporting President Donald Trump and has defended his efforts to counter the Covid 19 virus.[1] The Independent noted that, many Cummings supporters were not wearing face masks to combat the Covid virus at his campaign events, just like at Donald Trump events.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Jeffery C. Mays (2020-10-24). "If A.O.C. Is So Heavily Favored, Why Has Her Race Drawn $30 Million?". The New York Times: p. A19. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20201025004317/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/nyregion/aoc-money-campaign-spending.html. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "Her Republican challenger, John Cummings, a 60-year-old former schoolteacher at St. Raymond High School for Boys in the Bronx and a former officer for the New York Police Department, has collected $9.6 million in his first bid for office."
- ↑ "Trump and Biden Hit Swing States, With 10 Days Until Election Day". The New York Times. 2020-10-24. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024181745/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/24/us/trump-biden-election. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "His campaign war chest exceeds all but a dozen or so House incumbents. He has a donor list any fund-raiser would envy. And over the past three-month reporting period, Mr. Cummings actually took in more money than Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, raising $5.5 million to her roughly $4 million."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Former Cop plans to challenge AOC in 2020". Fox and Friends. 2019-07-17. https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-cop-and-teacher-jumps-into-race-to-take-on-aoc-dems-knocking-each-other-over-to-embrace-socialism. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "In an interview with "Fox and Friends," Wednesday, Cummings explained that while he had been encouraged by his students to run for some time, he had long considered it impossible to beat then-incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley."
- ↑ Peter Feuerherd (2020-10-20). "AOC and Cummings, battling over House seat, 'see things differently'". National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024071158/https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/aoc-and-cummings-battling-over-house-seat-see-things-differently. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Julia Marsh (2019-04-21). "Ocasio-Cortez targeted by mystery multimillionaire donor". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20201016104850/https://nypost.com/2019/04/21/ocasio-cortez-targeted-by-mystery-multimillionaire-donor/. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
- ↑ Vivian Wang (2020-10-19). "Ocasio-Cortez Will Be Tough to Beat. Why Are 11 People Trying?". The New York Times: p. A19. Archived from the original on 2019-10-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20191018091131/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/nyregion/aoc-2020-opponents.html. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "But a few have clearly capitalized on conservatives’ fervent hatred of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. John Cummings, a teacher and former police officer, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination on “Fox & Friends”; he raised $425,000 in 10 weeks, outpacing many sitting members of Congress."
- ↑ "New York Primary Election Results: 14th Congressional District". The New York Times. 2020-08-17. Archived from the original on 2020-10-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20201005080216/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/23/us/elections/results-new-york-house-district-14-primary-election.html. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
- ↑ Theron Mohamed (2020-10-25). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is heavily favored to win her reelection race. Her challenger has still raised $10 million because Republicans are desperate to beat her". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-aoc-favorite-reelection-challenger-raised-10-million-2020-10. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "Her Republican challenger, John Cummings, has still managed to raise $9.6 million, in a sign of how desperate her critics are to beat her, The New York Times reported on Saturday."
- ↑ Justin Pilgreen (2020-09-25). "Inside the New York Republican campaign trying its hardest to oust AOC". The Independent (New York City). Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20201025173115/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/inside-new-york-republican-campaign-trying-its-hardest-oust-aoc-b601626.html. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "Much like his opponent has done, Cummings has made sure to play up that he is not a politician but rather a school teacher. This makes Cummings and Ocasio-Cortez a part of a growing trend of non-politicians from both sides of the aisle choosing to run, and choosing to amplify their lack of “establishment” credentials while doing so."
