John Cummings (New York)
John Cummings (Republican Party, Conservative Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 14th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Cummings completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2020
See also: New York's 14th Congressional District election, 2020
New York's 14th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)
New York's 14th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House New York District 14
Incumbent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated John Cummings, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, and Antoine Tucker in the general election for U.S. House New York District 14 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) | 71.6 | 152,661 |
 | John Cummings (R / Conservative Party)  | 27.4 | 58,440 | |
 | Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (Serve America Movement Party) | 0.9 | 2,000 | |
 | Antoine Tucker (R) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 222 | ||
| Total votes: 213,323 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Miguel Hernandez (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 14
Incumbent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Badrun Khan, and Sam Sloan in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 14 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | 74.4 | 46,582 |
| Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | 18.1 | 11,339 | |
 | Badrun Khan | 5.0 | 3,119 | |
 | Sam Sloan | 2.2 | 1,406 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 143 | ||
| Total votes: 62,589 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- James Dillon (D)
- Jose Velazquez (D)
- Fernando Cabrera (D)
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. John Cummings advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New York District 14.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jineea Butler (R)
- Rey Solano (R)
- Israel Ortega Cruz (R)
- Scherie Murray (R)
- Ruth Papazian (R)
Conservative Party primary election
The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. John Cummings advanced from the Conservative Party primary for U.S. House New York District 14.
Independence Party primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michelle Caruso-Cabrera (Independence Party)
Serve America Movement Party primary election
The Serve America Movement Party primary election was canceled. Michelle Caruso-Cabrera advanced from the Serve America Movement Party primary for U.S. House New York District 14.
Working Families Party primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Working Families Party)
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Cummings completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cummings' responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Education: John believes that education SHOULD be the Civil Rights fight of the 21st Century. Access to a superior education should not be limited to those of economic privilege, and he is a strong supporter of school choice. Any and all avenues must remain open so that all have a pathway to success. John also believes that the more local education is, the more efficiently it operates. The Federal Government’s role in education should be limited, at best, and that parents and local communities are best equipped to deal with the educational challenges of their children. Economy: John is a strong proponent of the free market and believes that the Government that governs least, governs best. Deregulation, simplification of the tax code, and pro-growth policies need to be in place to create opportunities for ALL Americans. He also believes that the National Debt needs to be reduced and is in favor of a balanced budget amendment, so that out of control government spending does not bankrupt the country’s future generations. Health Care: John believes that Government interference in health care, at both the Federal and State levels, has driven up costs, has severely limited an individual’s ability to obtain the appropriate insurance policy, and has taken medical decisions out of the hands of patients and physicians and put them in the hands of uniformed bureaucrats. He is a proponent of low cost, non mandated, insurance, particularly for young people just entering the work force, in tax free health savings accounts, and in allowing companies to supply health
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
infrastructure is a major concern we have in our district. We have huge problems in the Bronx, and Queens with traffic to the point where I think some of the roads are dangerous, not because they’re designed improperly, but just because they’re too crowded. We need to somehow alleviate some of the traffic, as I’ve mentioned, several ideas before. The fact that, and a lot of people don’t even realize this, there is not a truck stop for truckers to use. Of course, they’re a key part of our economy. There’s only a certain amount of hours that these truckers can drive in a day. And they get stuck in massive traffic jams around the city. And then they have the time out, basically pack it up where they are. And that leaves trucks parked where they shouldn’t be. And that’s something that the federal government really needs to take a look at with this infrastructure project that’s supposed to be coming up. This major infrastructure bill is supposed to pass.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
I believe that a representative needs to be much more present, and available in the district. I understand if I am elected, I would have to spend a lot of time in Washington. But, you know, it’s not like this district is in Oregon. You can get back and forth pretty quickly from New York to Washington by driving or as Vice President Biden did – use the AMTRAK. Whatever you have to do to get to the people you represent. There is just a serious lack of presence from our Congressional leaders. It’s as if they have forgotten who they are representing. I think not being present in the district, leads to a complete disconnect of what’s going on here, and there are some pressing issues that are not addressed by anyone.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I am a leader - I believe in leading by example. As a Civics and History teacher, I believe it is our duty to be involved in how our country is run.
Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?
William De Toma comes to mind. BIlly wrote an impactful story about how I helped him in his life. That as a teacher I reached out to him, and helped him graduate. It is amazing how someone from almost 15 years ago can believe I could have made such an impact on their lives.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
