Samelys López, a grassroots community organizer, indirectly picked up the official endorsement of Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, through a political action committee she began in January.

López was endorsed by Courage for Change, a political action committee controlled by Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic socialist legislator (who’s also facing multiple challengers to her seat), boosting López’s chances at securing the seat long held by Congressman Jose Serrano. Her endorsement was first reported by the New York Times. 

“Growing up homeless in the shelter system, while facing housing insecurity like many of our neighbors in the Bronx, I have made it my mission to center those in my community who have been directly impacted by homelessness, food scarcity, and poverty,” said López. “It is personal experiences like these that have given me the courage to fight for transformative justice. I am honored to be the first candidate in the northeast to earn this endorsement. It truly takes political courage and a movement to change our politics.”

The PAC’s backing can be a financial boon for López who, despite bringing in way more campaign donations this past quarter compared to the one before that quarter, still hasn’t raised the same funds as her challengers. Councilman Ritchie Torres, another challenger in the race, has raised more than $1 million in donations.

The endorsement comes two months after Ocasio-Cortez opened the PAC, which is seeking the larger goal of turning Congress decidely progressive through its backing of candidates whose ideals match Ocasio-Cortez. López and Ocasio-Cortez’s relationship goes back to the days when both had volunteered for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign.

The news also comes two months after the New York chapter for the Democratic Socialists of American endorsed López.

The primary will be held on June 23. On top of Torres and López, other challengers in the race include Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr., Assemblyman Michael Blake, and former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.