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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

A.O.C.’s Digital Juggernaut - The New York Times - "The congresswoman is vastly outspending her fellow House members, and even most senators, online."
Since the beginning of this election cycle in 2019, she’s spent $3.6 million on Facebook ads, including nearly $2.4 million since January, according to her campaign. The next biggest digital advertiser among House members in 2020 is Representative Adam Schiff of California, who spent $620,000 online, according to the tracking firm Advertising Analytics.

Indeed, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s online spending has outpaced those of most Senate campaigns this cycle, including well-funded candidates like Mark Kelly in Arizona, Sara Gideon in Maine and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
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Why the big spending? She's up against another big spender, MCC.
As New York holds its congressional primary elections today, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is facing a well-financed challenger in Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former CNBC anchor, who lent her own campaign $1 million recently, though she has spent only about $177,000 online. Though Ms. Ocasio-Cortez remains popular, there has been scant public polling on the race, and her spending is a sign that she is taking the challenge from Ms. Caruso-Cabrera seriously.
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AOC knows how she won, and she won't let herself be "Crowleyed".
Her advertising on Facebook, where she has spent $406,000 in the past week, runs the gamut from more traditional, polished ads to raw, selfie testimonials from voters, similar to the videos that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez often posts herself on Instagram. (She also turned some of those videos into Facebook ads.)
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She spent $65,000 on this TV ad: Michelle Caruso-Cabrera is not one of us
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is also spending a large portion of her online budget on fund-raising ads. Since 2019, she’s spent about $2.5 million on such ads and has raised more than $4.1 million directly from them, according to her campaign.
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Many of AOC's ads are also in Spanish, like some that say "Michelle Caruso-Cabrera no es como nosotros" (MCC is not like us), and she has some get-out-the-vote ads in Chinese and Bengali also.
 
AOC is ahead in the vote count, though no NYC precinct has a reported count. About 15 minutes or so after the polls closed, the first numbers were released. At 707 votes, she had 70% of the vote and MCC had only 25%. I was so relieved.

Now it's 27,719 votes, with AOC 72.8%, MCC 19.8%, BK 5.1%, SS 2.4%. BK = Badrun Khan, SS = Sam Sloan.
In 2018, the total votes were 29,778, though that was a midterm year.

Looks like AOC is on her way to clobbering that Trump-Tower Republican carpetbagger.
 
Yes, congrats lpetrich, your obsession is cruising to a very sexy victory.

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/GravelInstitute/status/1275603153392721925?s=20[/TWEET]
 
Did AOC Tweet That Businesses Should Be Shut Down Until the Election?
AOC allegedly tweeted this:
It’s vital that Governors maintain restrictions on businesses until after the November Elections because economic recovery will help Trump be re-elected. A few business closures or job losses is a small price to pay to be free from his presidency. #KeepUsClosed
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From Snopes:
An image of that alleged tweet asserted that the tweet had been deleted after being shared over 20,000 times.

This tweet image was a fabrication, however, and not something posted by Ocasio-Cortez. It does not appear in her Twitter timeline, nor was it recorded by databases that capture and preserve deleted tweets.

Moreover, although the tweet was supposedly “shared over 20,000 times,” we could find no instances whatsoever of the original tweet’s having been shared or commented upon at all. It exists only as a screenshot of a faux tweet posted to a private Facebook group.
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Anna Massoglia on Twitter: "This US House candidate's screenshot of a tweet appearing to be @AOC urging restrictions on businesses until 2020 elections is FAKE.
@ProPublica's Politwoops database of deleted tweets by politicians is a good way to check before spreading misinformation: https://t.co/ExKlYvau9v" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "#TeamAOC volunteers made over 56,000 calls to NY14 TODAY. As in ONE DAY.
That’s shattered all our previous one-day records.
For everyone who has put in time to support, volunteer, or contribute - I cannot thank you enough." / Twitter

Sean S on Twitter: "@mozoob @AOC Everyone is already calling it for her. She's slaughtering Caruso-Fraudbrera" / Twitter
 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "When I won in 2018, many dismissed our victory as a “fluke.”
Our win was treated as an aberration, or bc my opponent “didn’t try.”
So from the start, tonight’s race was important to me.
Tonight we are proving that the people’s movement in NY isn’t an accident. It‘s a mandate." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Wall Street CEOs, from Goldman Sachs to Blackstone, poured in millions to defeat our grassroots campaign tonight.
But their money couldn’t buy a movement.
Thank you #NY14, and every person who pitched in for tonight’s victory.
Here’s to speaking truth to power. https://t.co/g9aRV3Cu1B" / Twitter

Carmen Yulín Cruz on Twitter: "@AOC Proud of you sister!" / Twitter


Katie Hill on Twitter: ".@AOC coming out strong tonight! Congrats on an amazing showing - hopefully your example of bold leadership and always being on the side of the people will inspire others to do the same." / Twitter
noting
HER Time on Twitter: ".@AOC is on the ballot TODAY! Two years ago she shocked everyone by winning her primary and changing politics as we knew it. She has been a true champion of the people, fighting for structural change in Washington. https://t.co/TKw044X7qx" / Twitter
HER Time is Katie Hill's PAC.

Ed Markey on Twitter: "Congratulations @AOC and your entire team on tonight's victory. You are a brilliant fighter for the people of your district and for people all across our country. We are lucky to have you in Congress fighting for our future and leading the progressive movement." / Twitter

Bernie Sanders on Twitter: "Congratulations to @AOC for winning her primary tonight! In less than two years, she has become a major leader in Congress on many important issues, and I look forward to continue working with her to achieve justice for all working people. https://t.co/zRAe2alDZB" / Twitter
 
Thahitun Mariam #DefundNYPD on Twitter: "We’re out in the Bronx celebrating @AOC’s historic win! Badass grassroots, WOC femmes who have been working nonstop to knock on doors, speak to voters in our languages & get folks to the polls are the reason our movement exists + we cannot ever forget that. AOC inspires us all 💖 https://t.co/kYtzxbiUxc" / Twitter
With a picture of AOC with some of her campaigners.

The Democratic Socialists of America:
DSA 🌹 on Twitter: "Congratulations to democratic Socialist @AOC on her win in New York! https://t.co/B8FMjm5t5T" / Twitter

Marianne Williamson on Twitter: "@AOC You won big because you deserved to win big. You could’ve gone to DC and played celebrity; instead, you proved with hard work and conviction that you’re everything we hoped you would be. Keep going." / Twitter


Badrun Khan on Twitter: "I want to thank all of my wonderful volunteers who came out today to support me. They stood out in the heat, talked to people, and helped me get the word out of my ideas for a better District 14. I promise to work as hard for you as you did for me. #badrunkhan" / Twitter

Badrun Khan on Twitter: "https://t.co/STZ0n0YdcI" / Twitter - urging people to get out and vote for her and other UBI supporters.


Michelle Caruso-Cabrera on Twitter: "Thank you to all of our volunteers! I am extremely grateful to those who have supported our campaign in ways both big and small. #TeamMCC #NY14 https://t.co/ARXR9tbuby" / Twitter
 
angelo said:
No matter! It seems [atm] that AOC will get her arse thrown out of the House come election time. And not before time!
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[MENTION=341]angelo[/MENTION]
 
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Yes, the GOP is up in arms against the freshman because she'll get herself voted out of office.

So she has easily dispatched a fake Democrat in the primary and will now easily win re-election. So the partisan rage boners can continue for the right-wing. AOC scares them to death because if she can merge political savvy to her charisma and gain enough experience, she is a serious threat for at least the US Senate.

Overall, looks like The Moderates had a couple victories (NY / KY) and Progs did as well (NY).
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Yes, the GOP is up in arms against the freshman because she'll get herself voted out of office.

So she has easily dispatched a fake Democrat in the primary and will now easily win re-election. So the partisan rage boners can continue for the right-wing. AOC scares them to death because if she can merge political savvy to her charisma and gain enough experience, she is a serious threat for at least the US Senate.
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Or she may stick to the House and go the way of Rep. Maxine Waters. She has been in the House for 30 years, and before that, in the California Assembly for 14 years.

Overall, looks like The Moderates had a couple victories (NY / KY) and Progs did as well (NY).
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AOC's preferred candidates had two victories, NY-16 Jamaal Bowman, NY-17 Mondaire Jones, and one defeat, NY-15 Samelys Lopez, placing 4th among the 12 candidates in that race.

AOC didn't endorse any of the other progressive candidates, like NY-03 Melanie D'Arrigo (2nd) or NY-05 Shaniyat Chowdhury (2nd) or NY-06 Mel Gagarin (2nd) or NY-07 Isiah James (4th) or NY-10 Lindsey Boylan (2nd) or NY-12 Lauren Ashcraft (3rd) or Peter Harrison (4th).

The vote-counting continues: 37,310 votes with AOC 72.6%, MCC 19.4%, BK 5.4%, SS 2.5%

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "@BernieSanders Thanks tío! ☺️" / Twitter

🌹Shahid Buttar for Congress on Twitter: "Your landslide victory tonight reaffirms the strength of our movement! Congratulations Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez!" / Twitter
But SB is running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and AOC likely doesn't want to primary her boss. She has three bosses in Congress: NP, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (Oversight), and Rep. Maxine Waters (Financial Svcs).
 
Last Saturday's campaigning: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Campaigns in Allerton - YouTube

ELECTION NIGHT WITH AOC - YouTube Field Director Ilona Duverge talked about all the campaign work that AOC's team did. Over 700,000 calls, 200,000 check-in calls, 4,000 bags of food, 35,000 masks. In the last 4 days, some 35,000 "lit drops" on doors with instructions on where to vote and how. Nearly 9,000 volunteers (!) She thanked them for all their work. Then Nicholas Hara, data director. He talked about leading with compassion, of giving back to the community, and the community giving back votes, 20,000 as of a few hours after closing. Some 53,000 absentee ballots have been applied for. A few thousand didn't reach their recipients, but this still means more ballots out there than known votes. He said that AOC's team's internal numbers are close to what we have gotten with the counted ballots.

Celinda Lake in May: 79% favorable, 73% for AOC in the primary.
With 37,825 votes, AOC 72.6%, MCC 19.5%, BK 5.4%, SS 2.5%

Then AOC herself, thanking her team. Was about keeping in touch with people. She got into how a lot of people thought that her 2018 victory was a bizarre accident. That haunted her first term in office, because people would ask her doesn't she risk being primaried about some of her stances. She would remind herself that she is doing it for "the movement." She then bragged about how her campaign did 53,000 - 56,000 phone calls on Election Day. Avg. donation $23 - $24. Shows how successful a people's movement can be. Says that a 70-72% fraction is a strong mandate for her agenda. Then she talked about millions of dollars going into unseating her, like from Wall Street CEO's. She said that they don't like their misbehavior exposed. She concluded by thanking her campaigners and supporters for all their efforts in fighting off the challenge.

So that's what AOC's campaign money got her.

Badrun Khan:

Badrun Khan on Twitter: "Congrats @RepAOC on your victory. Hope you'll fix housing & education, & reconsider approach to securing true equality for the people. We need a permanent #UBI & VAT to fix our tax code. I do believe you want to help the people! Let's raise their floor, not lower their ceiling 😃" / Twitter

Badrun Khan on Twitter: "I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the support I received in this race, from my neighborhood, my district, my friends and family, and from #YangGang and #UBI advocates, and all my supporters across the globe. Thanks to all of you! I promise to keep fighting." / Twitter
 
I haven't found anything from MCC that's comparable to BK's concession.


In order to estimate what AOC's victory margin might be in the main election, I checked on Joe Crowley's vote fractions over the years, using Ballotpedia's article about him.

In the 2018 election, the vote was: AOC (D): 78.2%, Anthony Pappas (R): 13.6%, JC (WFP): 6.6%, Elizabeth Perri (Cons): 1.6%
Combining the D and WFP votes gives 84.8%.

In the 2018 primary, the vote was AOC 56.7% JC 43.3% -- leading by 13.4%, a convincing margin.

Here are JC's fractions in previous main elections, among candidates officially on the ballot:
2016: 82.9%, 2014: 88.2%, 2012: 83.2%, 2010: 87.1%, 2008: 85.5%, 2006: 85.3%, 2004: 82.1%, 2002: 74.8%, 2000: 71.7%, 1998: 69.0%
Their minimum is 69%, their median is 83%, and their maximum is 88%.

To estimate how well AOC might have done if she had run as a minor-party candidate, outside the Democratic Party, I considered the Green Party's candidates.

Anthony Gronowicz 2012: 1.8%, 2010: 1.3%; Paul Gilman 2000: 1.8%.

So running as a Democrat was a good choice for her -- and also a good decision for her recruiter, Brand New Congress. Its founders wanted it to act like a political party, but its founders also decided that its candidates would run inside the two main parties.


Barbara Lee on Twitter: "Congratulations on a hard-fought victory @AOC! You are inspiring young people to lead and fight for a future that is theirs." / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Thank you for paving the way, @BLeeForCongress! 👑" / Twitter

Ayanna Pressley on Twitter: "You were sent to Washington with a mandate by the people, those who've been ignored, left out and behind. You saw them, you listened & got to work from GND, to decarceration, to housing justice. NY 14th knows in you they have a humble & fearless leader who fights for them" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "@AyannaPressley Thanks sis - love you and always so grateful for your friendship 💞" / Twitter
 
angelo said:
So much for polling................................https://www.vox.com/policy-and-poli...lexandria-ocasio-cortez-poll-favorables-media
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angelo, your research skills are awful. That is an article from 2019 Mar 28.

Titled link: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: AOC’s poll numbers are bad - Vox

Crowded field of challengers hopes to take on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar - CNNPolitics
Ocasio-Cortez told CNN in March that "it's everyone's right to enter the race" when asked about the field of challengers, but pointed out that "anyone who poses a challenge gets kind of automatically platformed by Republican and far-right publications and they can fundraise off of it."

...
The congresswoman is an outspoken advocate for progressive caucuses like the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-All. In contrast, Caruso-Cabrera describes herself as a centrist and a moderate. She has said "Medicare-for-All is not the answer" during her campaign and dismissed the Green New Deal as "divisive policy."

...
"The congresswoman has a huge national persona, so if you're in the race against her, you're probably going to get some TV time," said John Cummings, a retired New York city police officer and the only Republican candidate who qualified for the ballot in the district. As a result, he will face off against the winner of the Democratic primary in the November general election.

...
"I think I have a lot more in common with the Joe Crowley voters, the Democrat voters, the more moderate voters, than Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez does and if I can get out and mobilize that part of the voting base, I think I have a shot," he said.
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He has raised $2.4 million so far. From Ballotpedia, he is also on the Conservative Party's ballot. Antoine Tucker, another Republican, didn't make it into the primary, but he wants to be a write-in. Miguel Hernandez also didn't make it into the Republican primary, and he's now running as an Independent.

MCC is on the Serve America Movement Party's ballot.
 
7 times AOC completely nailed being a congresswoman | The Independent

'Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too', Green New Deal, Michael Cohen, Mark Zuckerberg, Detention centres on US-Mexico border, #WeGotOurBlock, Instagram Live

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fought off a Wall Street-backed election challenge. Here are some of the titans of finance who backed her opponent, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. | Markets Insider - like Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman.

AOC deftly deployed digital spending to trounce Wall Street-backed rival | Fortune
Arguably as important as the amount that Ocasio-Cortez has raised is how her campaign has deployed those funds: with a heavy dose of digital advertising. AOC has spent $3.6 million to date on Facebook ads during the current election cycle, according to the Times, including $2.4 million this year alone. By comparison, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the second-biggest digital advertiser among current House members, has spent only $620,000 online this year.

With digital advertising widely considered a key reason why the Trump campaign was able to deliver a shocking victory in the 2016 presidential election, the rest of the political establishment has sought to catch up. AOC is no exception; in addition to heavy online advertising expenditures, her enviable social media presence (she’s one of the most-followed members of Congress on Twitter) is capable of rallying a vocal base of progressive supporters online.
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MCC has yet to respond to AOC's depicting her as a Wall-Street-financed carpetbagger.
 
steph & max on Instagram: “#greennewdeal @aoc” at site @futureearth -- "I'm not here to tell you what is politically easy. I'm here to tell you what is scientifically necessary. AOC - Earth Day Live 2020."

steph & max on Instagram: “These are only 5 examples of how people and places become sacrifice zones: sacrificial land and sacrificial lungs. “In North America, these are overwhelmingly communities of color, Black and Latino, forced to carry the toxic burden of our collective addiction to fossil fuels, with markedly higher rates of respiratory illnesses and cancers.” - Naomi Klein, Let then Drown”
  • Los Angeles oil field. I remember seeing some oil pumps there when I visited LA in my childhood.
  • Isle de Jean Charles, Terrebonne Parish, south coast of Louisiana. The island is gradually sinking, and its inhabitants are trying to get some land elsewhere to move to.
  • Cancer Alley: the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Heavy industry, oil extraction, oil refining.
  • Flint water supplies being contaminated, Detroit zip code 48217 having very bad air pollution
  • Dakota Access Pipeline, Mountain Valley & Atlantic Coast Pipelines
Instagram photo by rani ban • May 30, 2020 at 10:34 AM -- "if you want the end of unrest then you should be asking for measupes that actually liberate people in their lives from the oppression of economic & social inequity" -- AOC

Sue Brisk on Instagram: “6.23.2020 @aoc getting out the vote speaking with her constituents in The Bronx at her last stop of the day, before the election primary the poles close.”

Giulia Marino on Instagram: “You cannot purchase that - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc by Joli” - "No amount of money can buy a movement. There is no price tag for having people who are animated by the courage of their convictions and by a desire for a better world."
Pretentious? Sappy? Maybe. But it shows that AOC seems to have a broader vision than day-to-day affairs. All the more reason to find her interesting.
 
AOC and other liberals, minorities gain in U.S. congressional primary races - Reuters - shows a picture of AOC wearing a mask with "Vote NYC" stickers printed onto it.

18 Times Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was The Consummate Power Dresser | British Vogue

Refinery29 on Instagram: “AOC Won By Campaigning In Her Community, Not Accepting Wall Street Donations”

Official AOC Shop - AOC now has her own swag site. She now has 6 Green New Deal posters:
  • Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NYC
  • Pelham Bay Park, Bronx, NYC
  • The Public Garden, Boston, MA
  • Hart Plaza, Detroit, MI
  • Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA
  • Plaza Del Totem, San Juan, PR
What places might be next?

There are also some T-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies in various colors, with text on them like AOC's name, her initials, "Green New Deal", "Change Takes Courage", and "Fight For Our Future".

Under "Accessories" was an AOC mug and an AOC tote bag.
 
I looked for other politicians' merchandise, and I found:
 
 
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Why intern for Mitch McConnell, who runs the ball for this racist and incompetent administration, when I will pay you almost twice as much to help make the world a better place? 😌" / Twitter
noting
Jackson Davis on Twitter: "A Tale of Two Internships
@AOC: $15/hr
@senatemajldr: $8.25/hr https://t.co/xKkg6fvpdB" / Twitter

From last year,
Jackson Davis on Twitter: "@AOC @AyannaPressley @RashidaTlaib https://t.co/ZI7EDawUHw" / Twitter - "Experience doesn't pay the bills!"

Jackson Davis on Twitter: "@payourinterns Oooh, just realized I still had the camera rolling for the exchange https://t.co/UZz5guSI7y" / Twitter - someone whining that paying interns is "socialistic". AOC soon said "There's a reason that there's only millionaires in Congress."

Jackson Davis on Twitter: "@payourinterns Shout out to lobbyist dude for three straight mega-boomer quotes:
'Experience is experience. Most of us didn't get paid to get experience'
'There's no such thing as a free ride'
'We can't become socialistic'" / Twitter

Jackson Davis on Twitter: "For more on the exploitative nature of Congressional internships and how they perpetuate elitist structures, watch this video we did with the Squad last year and donate to @payourinterns https://t.co/P8SuB49weR" / Twitter - full length

Crescent Eagle 🌹🍊 on Twitter: "@JacksonCDavis @AOC @senatemajldr Most people interning for someone like McConnell are going to be trust fund kids." / Twitter
I wouldn't be surprised. Spoiled brats who whine about how hard they work and how they didn't need anybody's help.
 
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