WASHINGTON — The progressive group that helped elect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is throwing its weight behind more progressives running for Congress, a nudge that could boost the profiles of some otherwise long-shot candidates.

Brand New Congress is backing Isiah James of Brooklyn in New York’s 9th Congressional District against Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke, Tomas Ramos of the Bronx in New York’s 15th Congressional District to fill the widely sought-after seat of retiring Rep. José Serrano, and Shaniyat Chowdhury in New York’s 5th Congressional District against Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens. The three candidates are among 11 progressives Brand New Congress will endorse officially on Tuesday, with more to come in the following weeks, the group told BuzzFeed News exclusively. Brand New Congress plans to endorse a total of 40 candidates for 2020.

Combined, Brand New Congress will back six candidates against Democratic incumbents of the prominent New York congressional delegation in the first election since Ocasio-Cortez’s unexpected win over longtime New York Rep. Joe Crowley. James, Ramos, and Chowdhury all said they were inspired by Ocasio-Cortez’s win. “She shows that the machine can be beaten,” James said.

James, 33, moved to New York in 2013 after serving two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan with the US Army. He filed to run against Clarke in late January and has since campaigned on affordable housing, tuition-free college, universal health care, ending mass incarceration, and the Green New Deal.

“My goal is to bring the kind of representation to Congress that hard-working Brooklynites deserve,” James told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview. “This is not the same old centrist politics with a new face. We have fallen by the wayside,” he added, calling Clarke’s acceptance of PAC money “an anathema for Shirley Chisholm’s legacy and an affront to everything the venerable Shirley Chisholm,” who once represented the district, “would be for.”

James has not submitted campaign filings to the Federal Election Commission, but he told BuzzFeed News he’s raised about $5,000 for his campaign.

“It is evident by the lack of progress in our district and by the donors who regularly contribute to Yvette Clarke that she is bought and paid for,” he added.

Clarke, a six-term incumbent, serves as vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and sits on the House Homeland Security Committee. She’s already in a tight matchup against Adem Bunkeddeko — the son of Ugandan war refugees — who took 47% of the vote in 2018. Bunkeddeko sought and did not receive the Brand New Congress endorsement. Alexander Hubbard and Michael Hiller have also filed as candidates, making this a five-person race for the Democratic nomination.