Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she considered not running for reelection prior to this election cycle, citing a lack of support from the Democratic Party.
“It’s the stress. … It’s the lack of support from your own party. It’s your own party thinking you’re the enemy,’’ the congresswoman told the New York Times. “I’m serious when I tell people the odds of me running for higher office and the odds of me just going off trying to start a homestead somewhere — they’re probably the same."
Ocasio-Cortez won her campaign for reelection in New York's 14th District.
“I don’t even know if I want to be in politics,” AOC continued. “You know, for real, in the first six months of my term, I didn’t even know if I was going to run for re-election this year.’’
The Bronx-native should have more allies within the Democratic Party in the coming years. Other progressives including Katie Porter, Jamal Bowman, and Cori Bush won key districts during the 2020 Election. However, opposition within the party establishment appears only to be growing in parallel. Numerous centrist Democrats bashed progressives, citing their leftist agenda as a reason for the election being as close as it was. On the other hand, AOC and her colleagues have argued that progressive policies such as a $15 minimum wage, the legalization of marijuana, and more are among the most popular policies across the country. Additionally, every candidate who supports Medicare for all won their election.
“So I need my colleagues to understand that we are not the enemy. And that their base is not the enemy. That the movement for black lives is not the enemy, that Medicare for all is not the enemy."
[Via]