Was AOC’s Coronation Tour a Bust?

It was supposed to be a coronation tour, by the end of which Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would emerge as heir apparent to either the Oval Office or Chuck Schumer’s Senate seat. The Democrat faithful were also supposed to feel energized ahead of the midterms by her four-day barnstroming swing through upstate New York. By the end of the final day, however, the Congresswoman appeared to doubt herself and her objectives. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez admitted that for the party to win “it’s going to take a lot of work — all of us banding together and turning out in higher numbers than we have.” The less than triumphant words reflected that her sweep through white working-class communities and liberal college towns may not have been a success. Her rallies were attended almost exclusively by students and as she addressed them some in the Democrat Party distanced themselves from her.Democrats running in competitive states have asked her not to campaign with them. A Montana progressive House candidate, Sam Forstag, who rallied with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez in May, has scrubbed her endorsement from his website and ruled out appearing with her again. Even in New York State, moderates are spurning her. Several Democrats in nail-biters, such as Hudson Valley’s Cait Conley, haven’t campaigned with her.Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s tour gives clues as to why. At a rally at Ithaca, a keffiyeh-clad activist led the student crowd in a chant of “From the River to the Sea.” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez then claimed the “elite” wants to use AI to “make sure none of us have jobs and they want to keep all the spoils of those riches.” She said to boost profits of private prisons, ICE was “going after every man, woman, and child that is engaging in productive activity in the street.”Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has recently tried to distance herself from her previous radical positions, such as defunding the police, by breezily claiming that “woke one was crazy.” Woke two, as outlined in her Upstate tour, may not sound much more appealing to anyone outside her base. While she has a successful money making machine — raising $32 million this cycle — and national name recognition, for much of middle America she is still the leader of the Squad. By the time Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has to decide on a 2028 tilt at Mr. Schumer’s Senate seat or even a presidential run, her DSA chickens may be home to roost. If DSA-backed candidates defy the party’s expectations and win they will be pushing woke two on a bigger platform. DSA standard bearer Zohran Mamdani could be sitting in a stew of his own making in New York City with costly city-owned grocery stores and still unfilled campaign pledges. With her warning that there is a hill still to climb on voter turnout, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t appear so sure of herself. Can she feel the tectonic plates not moving under her feet? To win the presidency when she can’t win an invitation to campaign in Montana would be an achievement. To win a battle against moderates within her own party for Mr. Schumer’s seat, another. Has she reached her political apogee?

Was AOC’s Coronation Tour a Bust?

Was AOC’s Coronation Tour a Bust?

More from the New York Sun

Crewman Stabs Pilot of Israel-Bound Flight in Suspected Hijacking Attempt

When Spectator Sport Was the Best Game in Town

Antisemitism Accusations Against Rightist Rising Star, Jordan Bardella, Roil France’s Presidential Contest

In the Pied-à-Terre Tax Clash, Where Were the Adults?

From Russia to America, Bears Advance, People Retreat

Escalating Crisis Over Pro-British March at Northern Ireland Flashpoint Raises Specter of ‘The Troubles’

Tech Experts To Testify on ‘Rogue AI’ Before Senate Subcommittee

Klobuchar Revels in GOP Colleague’s Failed ‘Gotcha’ Moment After He Confuses Atlanta Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes During Questioning of Jack Smith

More from the New York Sun

Crewman Stabs Pilot of Israel-Bound Flight in Suspected Hijacking Attempt

When Spectator Sport Was the Best Game in Town

Antisemitism Accusations Against Rightist Rising Star, Jordan Bardella, Roil France’s Presidential Contest

In the Pied-à-Terre Tax Clash, Where Were the Adults?

From Russia to America, Bears Advance, People Retreat

Escalating Crisis Over Pro-British March at Northern Ireland Flashpoint Raises Specter of ‘The Troubles’

Tech Experts To Testify on ‘Rogue AI’ Before Senate Subcommittee

Klobuchar Revels in GOP Colleague’s Failed ‘Gotcha’ Moment After He Confuses Atlanta Hawks and Iowa Hawkeyes During Questioning of Jack Smith