‘There’s a crisis called AOC’: Ocasio-Cortez faces challenge from three Republicans at next election

A Republican businesswoman and Jamaican immigrant is the latest candidate to announce a bid to unseat freshman Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the 2020 elections.

Scherie Murray, a 38-year-old New Yorker, launched her primary campaign in Queens on Wednesday, becoming the third Republican challenger vying for a shot at competing against the liberal congresswoman in the upcoming general elections.

Ms Murray, a supporter of Donald Trump, told Fox News in a phone interview on Wednesday: “There is a crisis in Queens, and it’s called AOC.”

“Instead of focusing on us, she’s focusing on being famous,” she continued. “Mainly rolling back progress and authoring the job-killing Green New Deal and killing the Amazon New York deal.”

Mr Murray also sharpened her attacks against the 29-year-old congresswoman in a campaign video posted to YouTube, in which Ms Ocasio-Cortez is seen making late-night TV appearances and speaking with media outlets near the US-Mexico border.

The Republican challenger also hits Ms Ocasio-Cortez frequently over her opposition to Amazon’s previous plans to build a second headquarters located in New York.

However, Ms Murray and the rest of the Republicans vying for the GOP nomination in Queens will face a nearly-impossible challenge of unseating the popular newcomer in a heavily blue district.

She has already begun walking the fine line of rejecting the president’s controversial tweets while continuing to express support for Mr Trump.

During her Fox News interview on Wednesday, Ms Murray was asked about the president’s recent racist Twitter attacks against Ms Ocasio-Cortez and other liberal Democratic congresswomen who he told to “go back” to their countries. All but one of the congresswomen were born in the US, and all of them are American citizens.

“Is that how I would have worded it? No. Do I think the president is a racist? No," she said. "But I want to get back to the core of why we’re even talking about this – there is a crisis at our border."

On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives voted in favour of a resolution condemning the president’s attacks on the congresswomen, with multiple Republican congressmen and one Independent joining the Democrats in their defiance of Mr Trump.