In battle against Trump, AOC takes unprecedented step for Biden and Democrats

While a Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has not always been a blue vote that could be taken for granted, occasionally giving her party noogies on issues from climate change to housing to income inequality while occasionally bucking the establishment’s candidates.

As one of the leaders of the progressive wing, she has tugged President Joe Biden to the left on those issues and more — often to the chagrin of party loyalists who tolerate no room for daylight between Biden and any Democrats with so much at stake in November’s presidential election — a battle seen as a steel-cage match between democracy and autocracy.

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But AOC has taken an unprecedented step — her first-ever contribution to the campaign arm of House Democrats — a $260,000 donation in a complicated relationship with her party. The reason, she told the New York Times, is because she fears a Republican House of Representatives won’t certify the election if Biden wins this fall.

“The entire country saw a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol that was predicated on not certifying the duly submitted results of a presidential election,” Ocasio-Cortez said of the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. “And if anybody thinks that that was not a dress rehearsal for what they may try to attempt in January of 2025, I’m sorry to say, but I think that’s a very naïve assumption.”

She elaborated in an interview posted on Twitter/X.

“First and foremost, if Democrats do not retake the house in November, I do not have confidence that a Republican majority would certify the results of a presidential election,” she said.

“The fact is, the threat of fascism is very real and very serious, and it’s probably at its most serious, and you’ve seen in the last two to four years in the history of this country ... and so that’s number one.

“Number two, the path to the majority runs through New York State and this fight has come here to our home — the fight for abortion rights, the fight for democracy, is right here in our backyard here in New York State, and I think it’s really important that New Yorkers, whether it’s members of Congress or just everyday voters, take ownership over protecting protecting the country and protecting our rights and freedoms.

“So that, to me, was a big piece of this and and doing our part to make sure that we can win back the House majority, hopefully, a trifecta and tried to pass major changes on healthcare education climate and more.”

Ocasio-Cortez has lobbied for a change in Democratic leadership, and that has led to older leaders stepping aside, like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and lieutenants Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn.

“If we take a look at it, we have the entirety of House leadership has now changed,” she told the Times. “We’ve exerted a lot of our power through our existing channels. Now it’s time to assert our influence in larger institutions, including the [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee].”