Only 1.4% of AOC’s Political Donations From Her District
Freshmen Democrats’ campaigns are being bankrolled by outsiders. Will that be reflected in votes?
While Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be a popular star with hard-left Democrats, it appears that she’s not so hot within her own district. According to an analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, AOC has received a total of $1,525.50 in itemized donations (over $200) from a whopping 10 people within her district. However, AOC leads all other freshmen representatives in money raised thus far ($1,924,358.67). In other words, the vast majority of AOC’s itemized donations have come from people living outside her district.
The Daily Caller notes, “The average freshman representative’s reelection campaign received $107,141.29 in itemized contributions from their constituents in the first half of 2019… Ocasio-Cortez’s reported in-district fundraising haul of $1,525.50 was just 1.4% of that average.” But AOC is not the only freshman Democrat representative to receive such a small percentage of donations from their districts, as eight of the 10 representatives receiving the lowest percentage from their constituents are Democrats. On the other hand, seven of the 10 freshmen representatives with the highest percentage of itemized donations come from Republican districts.
Furthermore, of the eight freshman Democrats with the lowest constituent donations, two are fellow members of AOC’s “Gang of Four,” Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. Essentially, their campaigns are being bankrolled by those who do not live within their districts and who will not be represented by them. The question is: Just how popular or unpopular are the members of “The Squad” within their own districts? Will the low number of constituent donors translate into fewer votes?