Did Dems Press AOC to Sell Out? (And Did She?)
House Democrats reportedly pushed her to support incumbents over challengers
Today Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is up for the party’s leadership position of ranking member — aka, top Democrat — on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for the next Congress, 2025 to 2026.
Yesterday, the party’s Steering Committee recommended Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) for the position instead. Connolly is 74 years old and has cancer. But he also reportedly had the backing of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
The Steering Committee vote to recommend Connolly was pretty close. He got 34 votes to 27 for Ocasio-Cortez. It was a secret vote, because democracy.
And beforehand, Steering Committee members grilled Ocasio-Cortez. Of course, Ocasio-Cortez got to Congress by challenging an entrenched Democratic incumbent. And since then on occasion she’s backed other primary challengers who took on her incumbent peers for other seats.
And apparently, some House Democrats want that to end. They want Democrats to value incumbency over policy and fitness for office when it comes to who they endorse for Congress.
With Ocasio-Cortez seeking their recommendation, members of the Steering Committee had their chance to push back. And they took it. Here’s how Politico reported it:
Before the vote, when Ocasio-Cortez was making her pitch to the Steering panel, she was questioned about her past positions when she boosted primary challengers to sitting House members. She signaled to lawmakers that she might no longer back Democratic challengers to her colleagues, according to three people familiar with the situation, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
One of her allies told Axios that the committee is “made up of the most senior members.”
There’s a faction on the left that sometimes accuses Ocasio-Cortez of selling out, sometimes for issues that may be more about tactics than goals. She was criticized, for instance, for praising administration policy on Gaza at the Democratic National Convention, which refused to platform any Palestinian speakers.
However, the “might” in “might no longer back Democratic challengers” is doing a lot of work in that Politico report. It’s definitely short of Ocasio-Cortez committing to back all incumbents always against every primary challenger.
And if this seems like internecine, procedural bullshit, it’s really not.
Democratic freedom to back primary challengers is a huge, huge deal and pivotal for the party’s direction on virtually every issue.
As I reported back in 2022 for TYT, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has wrestled with the same dynamic. Progressives who once backed former state Sen. Nina Turner (D-OH) for Congress over Shontel Brown when they fought for an open seat flipped against Turner and backed Brown two years later once she was the incumbent.
Incumbency protection makes it easier for incumbents to ignore pressure from progressive voters, and safer to heed the siren call of rich donors.
If progressives won’t endorse a House member’s challengers, and not even a single Democrat can endorse their challengers, there’s far less incentive to be responsive to popular, let alone populist, pressure.
We should know which Steering Committee members asked. We should know how Ocasio-Cortez answered. And if you want to politely inquire about all of this to the House Democratic Steering Committee, here they are, courtesy of Legistorm:
Chief Deputy Whip
Co-Chair
Co-Chair
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
Co-Chair
Democratic Caucus Chair
Democratic Caucus Vice Chair
Freshman Representative
Minority Leader
Minority Whip
Remember, if you do get in touch, be polite, and tell ‘em TFN sent you!
UPDATE: Connolly won, in a secret ballot, 131-84. As a possible indication of how intellectually untenable it is to deny a leadership role to a popular media superstar with decades to realize a return on the investment, here’s how CNN reported the rationale Democratic leadership gave. Please note that it’s not a direct quote, so the fact that it’s literal gibberish may well reflect an attempt to make sense out of whatever the hell was actually said:
Prior to the vote, Rep. Steny Hoyer [D-MD] stood up in the private meeting on behalf of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and urged his colleagues to weigh deference to seniority with who is best suited for the job, according to a source in the room.
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That House Democrats would elect a 74-year-old man with cancer to a leadership position over AOC, perhaps the most amazing spokesperson for progressive issues there is, is a perfect illustration of the death spiral the party is in under current leadership and consultant class.
Democrats are still acting like politics is business as usual when we see with our own eyes that it definitely isn't. We need people in leadership positions that can meet this moment.
This Connolly fellow has cancer and is 74, but Pelosi wants him. She's in her 80s and laid up recovering with a brand-new hip. I'm 67 myself, but I know when to fold 'em. These folks are enjoying the healthcare we pay for, yet they couldn't be bothered to TRY to fight for a crumb for us.
They're not up for this, hand the reins over. We are in such a bad pickle that I don't think it could hurt to let the kids have a crack at it.
Retire, go off and enjoy your really nice homes, your millions, your great healthcare, your family. They have more life behind them than they do ahead. Go live it.