Freshman Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has become a national progressive icon in her first-term in office, will defend her congressional seat in a New York Democratic primary election on Tuesday.

Former longtime CNBC correspondent and anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera has emerged as the most high-profile challenger to the congresswoman in a race that has featured substantial fundraising and tense clashes between the candidates…

Caruso-Cabrera has argued that Ocasio-Cortez is “M.I.A.” and cares more about building a national profile than her constituents. In an interview with CNN, she said the congresswoman “wants to be a national star,” adding, “I want to be a congresswoman for the people of the Bronx and Queens.”

Caruso-Cabrera has been fighting hard though and not pulling punches:

In case you didn't hear about the #Parkchester Debate.

.@AOC was a 'temperamental princess' ahead of our Tuesday primary.

Typical for someone who can't handle going head to head with a women Latina professional such as myself.https://t.co/jtVRVIPhAx

— Michelle Caruso-Cabrera for NYC Comptroller (@MCaruso_Cabrera) June 20, 2020

But before you get your hopes up too much, AOC’s camp ran a poll in May which showed her easily defeating Caruso-Cabrera 73% to 11%. Despite that, AOC spent $360,000 on ads in the past week. Axios reported, “Some view this as a sign of AOC being nervous as her opponent, former CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, continues to pump resources into her campaign.” Anyway, this looks like a long shot but if Caruso-Cabrera does better than expected that might be a sign AOC is more vulnerable than she seems. AOC is out there today reminding her people they are on the right side of history.

.⁦⁦@AOC⁩: “If you are out there in the street working with the WFP you are on the right side of history!” 💪 pic.twitter.com/WB38oisVLG

— NY Working Families Party (@NYWFP) June 24, 2020

Personally, I’m of two minds about this one. On the one hand, it would be fantastic to see the most prominent socialist in the House lose her primary to a moderate supported by the Chamber of Commerce. On the other hand, I’ve written 50 posts about some of the dopey things AOC has said in the past two years. Think of the content, people!

There are a couple of other primaries taking place tonight:

In New York, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel is facing a challenge from Jamaal Bowman, who founded a Bronx-based middle school and has won endorsement from liberal firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Bowman, who is black, is 29 years younger than Engel, who is white and has served 16 terms in the House…

“If Engel is ousted, it would be seen as a victory for Ocasio-Cortez, who won [in] a similar primary upset two years ago. And it would send a message to [presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe] Biden that he has to keep his promise to support the progressive agenda,” Valliere said.

Finally, in Kentucky:

A much-anticipated showdown between the progressive and establishment wings of the Democratic Party is underway as voters in five states go to the polls Tuesday for primary elections.

Polls are already closed statewide in Kentucky, where Democratic voters are choosing between party favorite Amy McGrath and state Rep. Charles Booker to face Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for whom rank-and-file Democrats’ disdain rivals only that for President Donald Trump.

McGrath, who was endorsed by Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, appeared on a glide path to the nomination for most of the past year. But Booker has charged late, driven by endorsements from national progressives like Bernie Sanders and the protests over racial injustice and police misconduct in his hometown of Louisville.

AOC has also endorsed Booker in the Kentucky race so we’ll see how she does tonight in these three races. I’ll update this post later as the results come in.

Update: AOC won tonight in a blowout. The NY Times has her with 72.9% of the vote to 19.6% for Caruso-Cabrera. Here’s the victory speech.

Wall Street CEOs, from Goldman Sachs to Blackstone, poured in millions to defeat our grassroots campaign tonight.

But their money couldn’t buy a movement.

Thank you #NY14, and every person who pitched in for tonight’s victory.

Here’s to speaking truth to power. pic.twitter.com/g9aRV3Cu1B

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 24, 2020

Jamaal Bowman also appears to be winning in the 16th, though the race hasn’t been called yet. The Intercept, anticipating his victory, is calling this a major progressive power grab.

The Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District is too early to call but as of 1 a.m. Wednesday, challenger Jamaal Bowman had roughly 61% of the counted vote. #NY16 https://t.co/jQ0aX4jdlE pic.twitter.com/0SipkIjkhQ

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) June 24, 2020

Finally, at this hour only about half of precincts are reporting in the Kentucky race so it looks like we won’t have the winner there for a few hours. As of now, the NY Times has Amy McGrath with 44.7% to Charles Booker with 36.5 percent.

According to Business Insider, Kentucky’s two largest counties won’t release results until June 30. So maybe more than a few hours.