Former CNBC anchor Caruso-Cabrera to run for Congress

Former CNBC correspondent and anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera has launched a challenge in the Democratic primary against freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Caruso-Cabrera has also served as a member of the board of directors for financial services firm Beneficient. She will take a leave from her role as CNBC contributor for the duration of the campaign, a CNBC spokesperson said.

Caruso-Cabrera will run as a Democrat in that party’s primary in the 14th District.

“I am the daughter and granddaughter of working-class Italian and Cuban immigrants,” Caruso-Cabrera said in a statement. “I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful career and I want everybody to have the opportunity that I’ve had. That’s why I’m running.”

She has spent more than 20 years with CNBC, serving as a co-anchor for “Power Lunch” and as the network’s chief international correspondent. She also published a book called “You Know I’m Right: More Prosperity, Less Government.”

Additionally, she has been a registered Democrat for several years.

Whereas, Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as one of the most influential voices on the American left. She stunned the Democratic mainstream when she defeated veteran Rep. Joe Crowley in the party’s congressional primary in 2018. She coasted to victory in the general election over her GOP rival, Anthony Pappas, with 78% of the vote.