A recent CNN poll showing Congresswoman Alexandria Ocascio-Cortez is gaining popularity among Democrats does not come as much of a surprise, Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt said on “Inside Politics Sunday” this morning. Isenstadt explained that in some ways, AOC’s political rise “reminds me of what happened to Republicans after Obama’s election in 2008.”
After he was asked if there is “a path for AOC in 2028,” Isenstadt said, “Well, if that’s what the party wants, then potentially … you know, her rise kind of reminds me of what happened to Republicans after Obama’s election in 2008 where it was the loudest voices of the Republican Party, the Tea Party, that really gained traction at a time when the Republican Party was lost.
“And maybe Democrats now find themselves in a similar situation and AOC maybe she best represents Democratic voters on it,” Isenstadt added.
Watch the segment below:
Washington Post reporter Paul Kane agreed. “Think of it this way,” he said. “If you’re a voter 30 and under, you’ve only participated in three elections, two of them Donald Trump won, one of them Joe Biden won. They’re all over 70 years old when they won. There [are] millions of voters out there craving something new, something younger, something closer to them.”
A new SSRS poll released March 16 revealed the majority of Democrats polled believe the party needs to do more to “stop the Republican agenda,” CNN revealed. When asked to name “the Democratic leader they feel ‘best reflects the core values’ of the party, 10% of respondents named Ocasio-Cortez (9% named former vice president Kamala Harris, 8% named Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and 6% named House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries).
The poll was conducted between March 6 and March 9, days before Chuck Schumer and other party leaders voted with Republicans in favor of the GOP’s spending bill. The move prompted outcry from House Democrats and members of the party across the country.
“I think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal and this is not just progressive Democrats — this is across the board, the entire party,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Thursday. “I think it is a huge slap in the face.”
Watch the clip from CNN in the video above.
