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After rattling some<\/span> observers by staying out<\/a> of a slew of competitive congressional primaries<\/a> in her home state this week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., endorsed a candidate in Tennessee on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ocasio-Cortez is backing Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson<\/a> in the 9th Congressional District, which will be a tough win for Democrats after Republicans scrambled to gerrymander<\/a> it earlier this year thanks to the Supreme Court\u2019s gutting of a key portion<\/a> of the Voting Rights Act. The district covering parts of Memphis and its suburbs is one of more than a dozen<\/a> that Republicans have redrawn at President Donald Trump\u2019s demand to ward off what many in the GOP see as the increasingly likely prospect that they lose both congressional chambers to Democrats in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An endorsement from democratic socialist Ocasio-Cortez is a coveted stamp of approval for progressive insurgents looking to challenge incumbents or capture open congressional seats. She has endorsed several Democratic primary candidates running for open seats in other states this cycle including Chris Rabb<\/a>, who won his primary in Pennsylvania; Analilia Mejia<\/a>, who won in New Jersey; and Junaid Ahmed, who lost his primary<\/a> in Illinois. But critics raised eyebrows at her decision to stay out of key congressional primaries in New York; she opted instead to endorse a slate<\/a> of democratic socialist candidates in the state Assembly.<\/p>\n The endorsement is a major boost to Pearson, who is also backed by Justice Democrats, the progressive group that first backed<\/a> Ocasio-Cortez in 2018 against longtime incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley, and Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a>, I-Vt. Pearson originally launched his campaign with the intention of ousting two-decade incumbent Rep. Steve Cohen, the last remaining Democrat in Tennessee\u2019s congressional delegation. Cohen dropped out of the race in May after state lawmakers split up his district into three neighboring districts, saying<\/a> it was \u201cdrawn to beat\u201d him.\u00a0<\/p>\n Observers theorized<\/a> that Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s absence from New York\u2019s congressional primaries reflected a desire not to butt<\/a> heads with Democratic Party leaders who endorsed against leftist challengers, potentially signaling her plans to run for higher office<\/a> in a future cycle. Others argued that she stayed out to split her efforts with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to maximize the left\u2019s political currency in a cycle with historic outside spending<\/a> against their candidates<\/a>. Mamdani emerged as a kingmaker in Tuesday\u2019s elections, backing three congressional candidates who won their primaries on Tuesday: socialists Clare Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, and progressive Brad Lander, and several \u2014 but not all \u2014 of the New York City DSA\u2019s endorsed candidates.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez said<\/a> the left\u2019s wins in New York\u2019s House primaries were part of both \u201ca moment\u201d and \u201ca movement\u201d of voters demanding more from the Democratic Party after major losses in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n Endorsing in the races would have pitted Ocasio-Cortez against her congressional colleagues whose support she might need in a run for higher office, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become House speaker if the Democrats retake the chamber in November. She\u2019s made most of her other endorsements this cycle in open seats with no incumbent, including Rabb, Mejia, Ahmed, Adelita Grijalva in Arizona, Adam Hamawy<\/a> in New Jersey, and Sam Forstag<\/a> in Montana. She endorsed Democratic candidate Randy Villegas<\/a> against the incumbent Republican, Rep. David Valadao, in California. Her former chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, said<\/a> her decision not to endorse him likely contributed to his loss in an open California primary<\/a> to replace retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., by fueling attacks<\/a> from his opponents.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n