New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised $9.6 million in the course of the first three months of this yr in a shocking fundraising haul.
The quantity is greater than double that of her second-highest quarter and comes as progressives name on her to problem New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate chief, within the 2028 main.
Her fundraising numbers had been included in a report back to the Federal Election Commission filed on Tuesday. Comparatively, Schumer raised $144,742 in the course of the first quarter of this yr.
Ocasio-Cortez now has greater than $8 million in money readily available. Her sturdy fundraising efficiency comes after she spent the previous few weeks touring the nation alongside Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on his “fighting oligarchy” tour. The duo has attracted 1000’s of supporters to their occasions, together with ones in deep-red states.
The consultant has lengthy been a powerful fundraiser, with a big community of small donors.
Campaign supervisor Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben wrote on X that “AOC had her strongest ever quarter, raising over $9.5m from 266k individual donors for an average of just $21.”
“Our top donor professions are teachers and nurses. 64% were first time contributors,” he added.
“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. “Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities.”
During her second-best quarter, in the summertime of 2020, Ocasio-Cortez raised $4.4 million.
Sanders’ adviser Faiz Shakir wrote on X that “The people are sending Democrats a message about the direction they would like to see.”
The fundraising haul for Ocasio-Cortez within the first quarter of this yr is greater than 5 occasions increased than what she introduced in in the course of the first quarter of 2024.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been barnstorming the nation to slam the Trump administration and the affect of billionaires equivalent to Elon Musk, the pinnacle of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Schumer has confronted fury from fellow Democrats for backing a Republican decision to avert a authorities shutdown final month. Democratic leaders are additionally going through requires them to step apart amid final yr’s congressional and White House losses.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been attracting crowds within the tens of 1000’s in cities equivalent to Los Angeles, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. They have additionally visited Denver, Colorado, Tucson, Arizona, and Nampa, Idaho.
The tour has been described as a possibility to “have real discussions across America on how we move forward to take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country,” Sanders’s website states.
“So many of us know what it feels like for life to be one bad day, one bad piece of news, one major setback from everything feeling like it’s going to fall apart. And we don’t have to live like this anymore, Utah!” Ocasio-Cortez stated throughout a Sunday rally. “We can make a new world, a better country where we can fight for the dignity of all people.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/aoc-bernie-sanders-fundraising-b2734526.html