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New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised $9.6 million during the first three months of this year in a stunning fundraising haul.
The amount is more than double that of her second-highest quarter and comes as progressives call on her to challenge New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, in the 2028 primary.
Her fundraising numbers were included in a report to the Federal Election Commission filed on Tuesday. Comparatively, Schumer raised $144,742 during the first quarter of this year.
Ocasio-Cortez now has more than $8 million in cash on hand. Her strong fundraising performance comes after she spent the last few weeks touring the country alongside Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on his “fighting oligarchy” tour. The duo has attracted thousands of supporters to their events, including ones in deep-red states.
The representative has long been a strong fundraiser, with a large network of small donors.
Campaign manager Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben wrote on X that “AOC had her strongest ever quarter, raising over $9.5m from 266k individual donors for an average of just $21.”
“Our top donor professions are teachers and nurses. 64% were first time contributors,” he added.
“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. “Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities.”
During her second-best quarter, in the summer of 2020, Ocasio-Cortez raised $4.4 million.
Sanders’ adviser Faiz Shakir wrote on X that “The people are sending Democrats a message about the direction they would like to see.”
The fundraising haul for Ocasio-Cortez in the first quarter of this year is more than five times higher than what she brought in during the first quarter of 2024.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been barnstorming the country to slam the Trump administration and the influence of billionaires such as Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Schumer has faced fury from fellow Democrats for backing a Republican resolution to avert a government shutdown last month. Democratic leaders are also facing calls for them to step aside amid last year’s congressional and White House losses.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been attracting crowds in the tens of thousands in cities such as Los Angeles, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. They have also visited Denver, Colorado, Tucson, Arizona, and Nampa, Idaho.
The tour has been described as an opportunity to “have real discussions across America on how we move forward to take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country,” Sanders’s site states.
“So many of us know what it feels like for life to be one bad day, one bad piece of news, one major setback from everything feeling like it’s going to fall apart. And we don’t have to live like this anymore, Utah!” Ocasio-Cortez said during a Sunday rally. “We can make a new world, a better country where we can fight for the dignity of all people.”
