Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who upset Democratic leader Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in a New York primary, is using her newfound following to promote others who are taking on establishment Democrats, HuffPost reported.
Establishment Democrats are also hoping she can help the party in upcoming general elections, with EMILY’s List and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., reaching out to her, HuffPost reported.
Ocasio-Cortez has supported Democratic candidates including Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Delaware Senate challenger Kerri Harris, Kaniela Ing in Hawaii, Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts, Brent Welder in Kansas, Cori Bush in Missouri, Chardo Richardson in Florida, Sarah Smith in Washington state, and Linsey Fagan in Texas.
Welder said the endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez led his weekly fundraising to increase from around $17,000 to over $65,000, the report said.
The Pressley campaign also reported success after Ocasio-Cortez’s win, raising around $18,000 in the three days afterward, The Daily Beast reported.
"From the second she tweeted my name, everything changed," Bush said, HuffPost reported.
Candidates with no ties to Ocasio-Cortez are also tying themselves to her. Ammar Campa-Najjar, a progressive running in southern California, noted Ocasio-Cortez’s win in Facebook ads, as did House candidates in Kansas, Washington state, and Mexico, the report said.
Most, but not all, are backed by the Justice Democrats, a group that helped Ocasio-Cortez in her campaign and is dedicated to taking on corporate Democrats, the report said. Corbin Trent, the group’s executive director, said that Ocasio-Cortez could be capable of raising $2 to $3 million more for other like-minded candidates, HuffPost reported.
"We still can’t help everybody… but I think we got enough juice right now to win two or three more races this cycle," Trent said, HuffPost reported.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.