Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing a Democratic challenge in the primary from a longtime Wall Street banker.

The race could test the pulse of Democrat voters in the 14th congressional district, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens, on whether the party has veered too far to the left.

Martin Dolan, age 66, will begin gathering signatures after formally registering a campaign committee this week, Bloomberg reports. After working in Wall Street finance for three decades, the ex-banker — who has long had an interest in politics — said his run is a “referendum on common sense.” 

He criticizes Ms. Ocasio-Cortez for her stance supporting contentious diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, Bloomberg reports, and says she favors immigrants over New York residents and taxpayers. 

“There’s been nobody who’s more in favor of immigration than AOC, and there’s been no worse thing that’s happened in New York in the last year,” Mr. Dolan said.

There is some support for his position — recent assaults on police officers have added to mounting pressure for the city to confront its handling of the migrant crisis and other far-left policies, as the Sun has reported. New York City, like sanctuary cities across the country, has been grappling with an influx of nearly 200,000 migrants since 2022. 

Yet, he is likely to face an uphill battle: Ms. Ocasio-Cortez won nearly 75 percent of the vote against her last challenger in 2020, and this year her campaign already has $5.7 million in funds while Mr. Dolan has raised $58,000 — the majority of which is from himself, Bloomberg notes. 

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign issues include advocating for a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and divesting from wars. On immigration, her website notes that undocumented immigrants fill important jobs and that “it is past time to make them full members of the country and abolish ICE.”

Calling for an end to “mass incarceration,” her campaign notes that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez supports ending the death penalty, mandatory minimum sentences, ending cash bail, and decriminalizing “activities that are byproducts of poverty and homelessness,” including sex work and drug use.