Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is fighting back against criticism of her failure to pay her $250,000 âduesâ to the Democratic Congress Campaign Committee (DCCC) â an organization focused on getting Democrats elected to the House.
According to a report by Fox News, Democrats are livid that Ocasio-Cortez has not given to the DCCC despite raising massive amounts of cash.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) suggested that by not giving to the DCCC, Ocasio-Cortez could endanger the Democratsâ majority in the House.
âSometimes the question comes: âDo you want to be in a majority or do you want to be in the minority.'â
She is not the only representative who had not paid their dues to the DCCC. According to Fox, by the end of October 97 members had yet to pay. However, it is possible that some of those members met their obligation by the end of the year.
On Friday, Ocasio-Cortez responded to the criticism by noting that she has helped fundraise for candidates.
âI give quite a bit to fellow Dems â weâve fundraised over $300,000 for others (more than my âduesâ), over 50% going to swing seats.â
Additionally, she accused the DCCC of blacklisting organizations that help progressive candidates get elected, âDCCC made clear that they will blacklist any that helps progressive candidates like me. I can choose not to fund that kind of exclusion.â
She added that she donates âstrategicallyâ instead of just to the DCCC to help ensure that the majority is âtransformativeâ and candidates who share similar views to her get elected.
âExpanding a House majority is critical, which is why I regularly (and happily) fundraise sizeable amounts for fellow members. I also believe that a Dem majority should be transformative, which is why I give strategically. Seems fair, no?â
She also announced that she had launched her own Super PAC called Courage to Change, which is designed to help candidates who âreject lobbyist money, fight for working families, welcome newcomers.â
Last year, the DCCC announced it would not hire private political firms that provide services to primary challengers, saying it is responsible for âprotecting and growing our House majority.â
Some commentators claimed the move was designed to prevent future progressive candidates from launching primary challenges to more establishment candidates.
This isnât the first time she as bucked the party, as USA Today reports, last year Ocasio-Cortez âwho won her seat after a primary challenge â encouraged donors to give directly to candidates instead of the DCCC to prevent the organization from blocking primary challengers.
Despite the progressive starâs appeal to donors, the DCCC said it raised $125 million in 2019, a record amount for a non-election year, according to CNN.