Progressive champion Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) had the highest portion of small campaign donors of any member of the 116th U.S. House, according to a new analysis out Tuesday. (Photo: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Facebook)
Dec 17, 2018
"Being people-funded frees me to support policies that put people FIRST, and speak openly about closing lobbyist loopholes," Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) declared Tuesday, responding to a new analysis showing that she had the highest portion of small campaign contributions of any member of 116th U.S. House.
\u201cFun Fact: Our campaign has the highest rate small-donor funding of ANY House member in Congress!\n\nBeing people-funded frees me to support policies that put people FIRST, and speak openly about closing lobbyist loopholes.\n\nJoin and support our independence: https://t.co/OJ64KclZ0m\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1545159418
According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, nearly 62 percent of Ocasio-Cortez's $2 million haul came from individual contributions that totaled less than $200. Many donors to her campaign hailed from the Bronx and Queens, two New York City boroughs she will represent in Congress beginning in January.
\u201cThe the House, @Ocasio2018 leads the way in terms of money raised from small donors\nhttps://t.co/oseS0egwYS\u201d— OpenSecrets.org (@OpenSecrets.org) 1545144000
Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest congresswoman ever elected, has been making national headlines since even before her stunning primary defeat of long-time Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in June. A champion of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, she has publicly challenged the leaders of the Democratic Party--including presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi--to embrace bold and increasingly popular progressive policies.
Her advocacy for more ambitious and leftist measures--as she and other political commentators noted Tuesday--is enabled in part by her refusal to cozy up to big business or accept any corporate PAC money. As a "people-funded" incoming congresswoman, she'll also have more time to focus on actual policymaking, as The Intercept's Ryan Grim pointed out on Twitter:
\u201cMorning: breakfast PAC fundraiser\nMid-morning: Call time (dialing rich people for $)\nMid-day: Office check in, lobbyist meetings\nAfternoon: Call time, meetings with lobbyists\nEvening: PAC fundraiser\n\nIn between are votes and hearings. The former you go to, the latter you skip.\u201d— Ryan Grim (@Ryan Grim) 1545162448
And she'll need that time if she wants to continue successfully taking on--in the words ofThe Week's Ryan Cooper--her party's "corrupt and mealy-mouthed" more "moderate" faction.
\u201cthis I think is a *highly* underrated development. small donor fundraising means you can be a politician without having to gladhand intolerable rich people for half your waking life https://t.co/OKSGztkqBO\u201d— ryan cooper (@ryan cooper) 1545163045
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alexandria ocasio-cortezdemocratic partygreen new dealmedicare for allnew yorknew york citypeople powerpoliticsus house
"Being people-funded frees me to support policies that put people FIRST, and speak openly about closing lobbyist loopholes," Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) declared Tuesday, responding to a new analysis showing that she had the highest portion of small campaign contributions of any member of 116th U.S. House.
\u201cFun Fact: Our campaign has the highest rate small-donor funding of ANY House member in Congress!\n\nBeing people-funded frees me to support policies that put people FIRST, and speak openly about closing lobbyist loopholes.\n\nJoin and support our independence: https://t.co/OJ64KclZ0m\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1545159418
According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, nearly 62 percent of Ocasio-Cortez's $2 million haul came from individual contributions that totaled less than $200. Many donors to her campaign hailed from the Bronx and Queens, two New York City boroughs she will represent in Congress beginning in January.
\u201cThe the House, @Ocasio2018 leads the way in terms of money raised from small donors\nhttps://t.co/oseS0egwYS\u201d— OpenSecrets.org (@OpenSecrets.org) 1545144000
Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest congresswoman ever elected, has been making national headlines since even before her stunning primary defeat of long-time Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in June. A champion of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, she has publicly challenged the leaders of the Democratic Party--including presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi--to embrace bold and increasingly popular progressive policies.
Her advocacy for more ambitious and leftist measures--as she and other political commentators noted Tuesday--is enabled in part by her refusal to cozy up to big business or accept any corporate PAC money. As a "people-funded" incoming congresswoman, she'll also have more time to focus on actual policymaking, as The Intercept's Ryan Grim pointed out on Twitter:
\u201cMorning: breakfast PAC fundraiser\nMid-morning: Call time (dialing rich people for $)\nMid-day: Office check in, lobbyist meetings\nAfternoon: Call time, meetings with lobbyists\nEvening: PAC fundraiser\n\nIn between are votes and hearings. The former you go to, the latter you skip.\u201d— Ryan Grim (@Ryan Grim) 1545162448
And she'll need that time if she wants to continue successfully taking on--in the words ofThe Week's Ryan Cooper--her party's "corrupt and mealy-mouthed" more "moderate" faction.
\u201cthis I think is a *highly* underrated development. small donor fundraising means you can be a politician without having to gladhand intolerable rich people for half your waking life https://t.co/OKSGztkqBO\u201d— ryan cooper (@ryan cooper) 1545163045
"Being people-funded frees me to support policies that put people FIRST, and speak openly about closing lobbyist loopholes," Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) declared Tuesday, responding to a new analysis showing that she had the highest portion of small campaign contributions of any member of 116th U.S. House.
\u201cFun Fact: Our campaign has the highest rate small-donor funding of ANY House member in Congress!\n\nBeing people-funded frees me to support policies that put people FIRST, and speak openly about closing lobbyist loopholes.\n\nJoin and support our independence: https://t.co/OJ64KclZ0m\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1545159418
According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, nearly 62 percent of Ocasio-Cortez's $2 million haul came from individual contributions that totaled less than $200. Many donors to her campaign hailed from the Bronx and Queens, two New York City boroughs she will represent in Congress beginning in January.
\u201cThe the House, @Ocasio2018 leads the way in terms of money raised from small donors\nhttps://t.co/oseS0egwYS\u201d— OpenSecrets.org (@OpenSecrets.org) 1545144000
Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest congresswoman ever elected, has been making national headlines since even before her stunning primary defeat of long-time Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in June. A champion of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, she has publicly challenged the leaders of the Democratic Party--including presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi--to embrace bold and increasingly popular progressive policies.
Her advocacy for more ambitious and leftist measures--as she and other political commentators noted Tuesday--is enabled in part by her refusal to cozy up to big business or accept any corporate PAC money. As a "people-funded" incoming congresswoman, she'll also have more time to focus on actual policymaking, as The Intercept's Ryan Grim pointed out on Twitter:
\u201cMorning: breakfast PAC fundraiser\nMid-morning: Call time (dialing rich people for $)\nMid-day: Office check in, lobbyist meetings\nAfternoon: Call time, meetings with lobbyists\nEvening: PAC fundraiser\n\nIn between are votes and hearings. The former you go to, the latter you skip.\u201d— Ryan Grim (@Ryan Grim) 1545162448
And she'll need that time if she wants to continue successfully taking on--in the words ofThe Week's Ryan Cooper--her party's "corrupt and mealy-mouthed" more "moderate" faction.
\u201cthis I think is a *highly* underrated development. small donor fundraising means you can be a politician without having to gladhand intolerable rich people for half your waking life https://t.co/OKSGztkqBO\u201d— ryan cooper (@ryan cooper) 1545163045
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