DES MOINES, Iowa — As Bernie Sanders was stuck in Washington during the long hours of opening arguments in President Trump’s impeachment trial, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 30, held multiple rallies in Iowa to energize supporters of the Vermont senator.
“Iowa, are you ready?” the Democratic congresswoman from New York asked a cheering crowd in Ames, Iowa, last weekend. “We all have something to give. All of us have power. In this moment, we just need to dig down deep and acknowledge it in ourselves.”
Supporters of Sanders, many having only read or heard about Ocasio-Cortez, were impressed by her performances in the state.
“We need her here. It’s great to bring in celebrities like this to help energize support for Bernie,” said Peter Richardson, an 18-year-old University of Iowa student. “Anything like this helps get the message across.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a former bartender, has shown herself a natural speaker at Sanders campaign events, weaving personal stories into her liberal policies.
“Yeah, it’s cool having her here. It’s my first caucus, so I’m kinda bummed I won’t see Bernie speak himself,” said Sam Johnson, 18, in Iowa City. “I’ve only ever watched his YouTube interviews, but this gives me something to do, and I thought she did a great job.”
Ocasio-Cortez is the most visible of the four first-term women who make up “the Squad,” a coalition of Democratic representatives whose goals are to push the Democrat Party further to the left on key policy issues. The other members include Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Omar and Ocasio-Cortez touted plans to make the Congressional Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party into “a new kind of centrism” backed by calls for “Medicare for all,” a federal $15 minimum wage, and awareness on social justice issues.
