Kyle Becker writes for RedState.com about bad news for one of the political left’s most prominent figures.
Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) is getting major pushback from swing-state Democrats in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
Their message? Please, just stay away.
Axios unleashed the nasty news and blasted it into the ether on Sunday night.
Democrats in some of this year’s most critical congressional battlegrounds are sending a clear message to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: We don’t want you to campaign for us.
Why it matters: If they continue, the snubs could hurt AOC’s standing as a potential contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, when many voters will prioritize electability.
AOC is currently testing the waters for a potential Senate bid, so this is not a great sign that she has enough mainstream appeal for the “big leagues.”
Axios reports that Democrats in some of the most important battleground races this fall are shunning Ocasio-Cortez, with party officials saying some candidates have explicitly asked her team to stay away. One senior Democrat strategist working in a key swing district was especially blunt.
“The polling is atrocious for her,” the strategist told Axios. “She’s a lightning rod.”
Here is the background Axios gave on the recent developments:
Ocasio-Cortez and her allies argue that her unapologetic advocacy for big progressive policies like Medicare for All would make candidates like her more electable than moderate liberals, but many Democrats in tight races this fall have disagreed.
She was welcomed by many Democrats in competitive primary races, but some of those candidates have distanced themselves as they’ve moved to the center to take on Republicans in the Nov. 3 election.
The timing couldn’t be much worse for AOC because she’s currently trying to prove that the AOC brand can travel.
She’s barnstorming through upstate New York, meeting local officials and building a voter-turnout operation as she weighs whether to run for Senate or president in 2028.
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