Bernie Sanders generally isn’t big on endorsements. He routinely touts his unpopularity with corporate interests and the political establishment and makes a point of showing his disdain for political backslapping.
But there’s one endorsement that could be particularly fruitful for Sanders as his poll numbers drop in the 26-person Democratic primary field: first-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat — and the leader of a far-left faction on Capitol Hill who can command instant media attention. And while an Ocasio-Cortez endorsement could have been considered a luxury a few months back, with Sanders falling behind rivals Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris, depending on the survey, its absence looks more glaring for the most left-leaning Democratic candidate in the field.
“Sanders isn’t Fidel Castro, his supporters aren’t necessarily going to rush a hill for him,” Democratic strategist Scott Ferson told the Washington Examiner. “AOC doesn’t need Sanders at this point,” despite using support from the New York Democratic Socialists of America to campaign for her 2018 Democratic primary, in which she defeated a member of the party leadership in Washington. “She’s her own brand now.”
The pair do have a strong working relationship. Sanders, 77, and Ocasio-Cortez, 29, teamed up on legislation in May that would create a cap on credit card interest rates. This week, the pair issued a joint statement, calling on the U.S. to declare a national emergency over climate change.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Sanders’ campaign co-chair Nina Turner acknowledged Ocasio-Cortez’s looming importance but dismissed the idea that her backing is central to any campaign strategy.
“The senator is working all over to get the endorsement of many people from the grass-tops to the grassroots. He’s doing that all over the country,” she said. “Certainly Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is important to this movement. She’ll make her decision when the time comes. We’ll keep on rolling on, no matter what.”
Turner, a former Ohio state senator, added, “I’m certainly not going to put more of a premium on her endorsement compared to anybody else. I’m sure the senator would certainly welcome it. Once we start putting a premium on one person’s endorsement over the other, we make it seem like that person is more superior than anybody else, and I just don’t believe that that’s the case.”
Despite the efforts by Sanders to court Ocasio-Cortez, those close to Justice Democrats — the PAC co-founded by former Sanders campaign worker and her chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti — who spoke to the Washington Examiner on background, say the group has grown increasingly uninterested in him.
Justice Democrats’ absence from the presidential primary has been conspicuous, considering it has continued endorsing in other federal races, along with state and local contests. This week, the group endorsed three new candidates for House and Senate races.
Ocasio-Cortez’s office has said she is waiting for when it will have maximum impact — but also stated it would be early in the nominating process.
“AOC is a rockstar. What’s the rush? She might not need Sanders, but he needs her,” Ferson said.
When asked this spring about what she thought of the potential 2020 primary field, Ocasio-Cortez said only two candidates were acceptable.
“What I would like to see in a presidential candidate is one that has a coherent worldview and logic from which all these policy proposals are coming forward,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. “I think Sen. Sanders has that. I also think Sen. Warren has that.”
That lack of urgency on Ocasio-Cortez’s part has allowed Warren to do her own courting. In May, the two appeared in a video together mocking the finale of the television program Game of Thrones. Both congresswomen have repeatedly spoken about the need for a wealth tax.
