John Cummings

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John Cummings
Born 1960 (age 63–64)
Nationality Template:USA
Occupation teacher, police officer, politician

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]

Background

Cummings followed his father into work in the New York Police Department.[3] He worked in the South Bronx, and then in the Harbor Unit, before a knee injury forced his retirement, in 1991.[4]

After his knee injury he worked in private security, while he furthered his education.[3]

Cummings has taught Civics at St. Raymond High School for Boys, for 22 years.[5] St Raymond was the school he graduated from in his youth.

Candidacy

Cumming routinely describes his students as his inspiration to run for Congress.[6] He describes them explaining to them that Ocasio-Cortez's ten-term predecessor, Joe Crowley, was unchallengeable, and how when Ocasio-Cortez seemed to come from no-where to defeat him, they told him he had made a "lame excuse".

Bill Newmark chairman of the Bronx branch of the Republican Party endorsed Cummings on December 13, 2019.[7]

Announcement on National TV

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".[8] 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.[4][9] 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.[8][10]

Fundraising efforts

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][11][12] By July 2020, Cummings had raised $3.5 million.[13][14] 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:

“I guarantee you 75 percent of his contributors don’t know anything about him... I don’t know anything about him except that he’s running against A.O.C. The people that are interested in that race financially are giving because it’s A.O.C.”[1]

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 outraised most other candidates.[15]

Campaign spending

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.

Platform

At the time he announced his candidacy Cummings characterized himself as a “small-government guy”, who advocated freedom of choice in education, a free-market economy and infrastructure improvements.[3]

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.[16]

Cummings supported Amazon.com building a massive new office complex in the District.[13] Ocasio-Cortez had criticized Amazon's plans, shortly after they choose a site on the short of the Hudson River, and Amazon reacted by dropping their plan. Cummings accepted a large donation from Amazon.

References

  1. 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." 
  2. "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. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Julia Marsh (2020-07-12). "Bronx civics teacher inspired by AOC to run – for her seat". The New York Post. https://nypost.com/2019/07/12/bronx-civics-teacher-inspired-by-aoc-to-run-for-her-seat/. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "Cummings followed in his cop father’s footsteps, joining the NYPD in 1983. He worked in the South Bronx then moved to the NYPD’s Harbor Unit, where he suffered a knee injury and retired in 1991." 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "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." 
  5. 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. 
  6. Emily Drooby (2019-08-07). "Meet John Cummings, the Catholic school teacher running for Congress". Net New York. https://netny.tv/episodes/currents/john-cummings-catholic-school-teacher-running-congress/. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "Cummings drew inspiration from the school he attended, where he now teaches. “My students have been after me to run for many, many years,” explained the Saint Raymond Catholic High School Civics teacher, who used to think it was an unwinnable seat once held by Democratic powerhouse Joe Crowley. “But then congresswoman, now Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez pretty much came out of nowhere and defeated him, so it was pointed out to me by my students that was a ‘pretty lame excuse,’ to use their terminology,” he said." 
  7. Julia Marsh (2019-12-13). "Bronx Conservative Party endorses John Cummings’ bid for AOC’s seat". The New York Post. https://nypost.com/2019/12/13/bronx-conservative-party-endorses-john-cummings-bid-for-aocs-seat/. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "Retired Harbor Unit officer-turned-high school civics teacher John Cummings got the nod from chairman Bill Newmark for his long-shot bid to turn New York’s deeply blue 14th Congressional District red." 
  8. 8.0 8.1 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. 
  9. 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." 
  10. "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. 
  11. 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. Archived from the original on 2020-10-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20201001142149/https://nypost.com/2020/07/08/gop-candidate-claims-he-can-topple-aoc-in-general-election/. 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." 
  12. Lana Zak (2020-10-25). "John Cummings running for New York's 14th congressional district against AOC". CBS News. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20201025215429/https://www.cbsnews.com/video/john-cummings-running-for-new-yorks-14th-congressional-district-against-aoc/. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "John Cummings is running as the Republican candidate in New York's 14th Congressional District race, against Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Cummings spoke with CBSN's Lana Zak about the race." 
  13. 13.0 13.1 Carl Campanile (2020-07-08). "GOP candidate claims he can topple ‘vulnerable’ AOC in general election". The New York Post. https://nypost.com/2020/07/08/gop-candidate-claims-he-can-topple-aoc-in-general-election/. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "'We have raised over $3.5 million from over 70,000 donors from all 50 states; and we have the candidate and message to contrast with AOC’s radical socialist agenda and unbelievable disconnect from the very voters she claims to represent.'" 
  14. Jacob Jarvis (2020-10-25). "AOC Has Raised Nearly $9m More Than Her GOP Opponent in House Race". Newsweek magazine. https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-fundraising-rival-house-race-1541950. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "Cummings, a former NYCPD officer who is now a teacher, continues to trail financially in the race for the city's 14th Congressional District despite having raised around $1.5 million more than Ocasio-Cortez in the last quarter, bringing in roughly $5.5 to $4 million, The New York Times reports." 
  15. David Weigel (2020-02-01). "The Trailer: What the latest fundraising numbers tell us before Iowa". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2020-03-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20200309134802/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/paloma/the-trailer/2020/02/01/the-trailer-what-the-latest-fundraising-numbers-tell-us-before-iowa/5e34c1a388e0fa7f825422bf/. Retrieved 2020-10-25. "John Cummings, a Republican making a hopeless challenge in Ocasio-Cortez's deep blue district, raised more money than all but nine Republicans running to take back swing seats, and several of those candidates are self-funders. It's the flip side of the president's fundraising prowess: When frustrated, the GOP base is not quite sure who to donate too, while Democrats remain better at spreading money around." 
  16. 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." 
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