Veteran Rep. Joseph Crowley, defeated by newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a primary election that shocked the political world, is laying the groundwork for a comeback.
Crowley has formed a state campaign committee “Joe for NY,” and is holding a fundraiser Oct. 29 at the Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel in Manhattan, where the maximum suggested donation is $10,000.
According to an email sent to “Irish Americans & Friends Crowley” by Walter Swett of the firm Dynamic SRG, who is the Crowley committee’s campaign treasurer, the group was “established to position Joe for future opportunities in public service.”
Crowley was re-elected as the Queens Democratic Party chairman despite his 15-point blowout in June at the hands of socialist democrat Ocasio-Cortez, 28, in a diverse district that covers parts of Queens and The Bronx.
He served in the state Assembly before his election to Congress in 1998 and has been the Queens Democratic leader since 2006.
Sources said there’s a practical reason Crowley formed a state campaign committee instead of a federal one.
Under federal rules, the maximum individual donation to a congressional candidate is $5,400.
Under state rules, the maximum is $65,100 in a statewide race.
The IrishCentral website recently floated Crowley’s name for statewide office, noting that, “While white ethnic Catholic no longer plays that well in Queens, it is a powerful identity statewide…He will be back.”
But another political source speculated that Crowley created the new campaign committee to maintain his profile and raise money for other Democratic candidates.
Crowley’s family has actually lived for years in Virginia, though he maintains a family residence in Woodside, Queens.
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