Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to social media to address split-ticket New York voters who supported her candidacy and President-elect Donald Trump, as Democrats grapple with the fallout of Vice President Kamala Harris' defeat.
On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, posted an election debrief to her more than eight million Instagram followers. She wondered how those who backed her reelection also voted for Trump.
Some of the responses to her inquiry included:
- "I feel like Trump and you are both real."
- "I feel like you are both outsiders compared to the rest of D.C. and less establishment."
- "I know people that did this, and it was because of Gaza."
- "You are focused on the real issues people care about, similar to Trump populism in some ways."
- "Dems do a better job at the local level but are terrible at the macro level."
Ocasio-Cortez won New York's 14th District, covering parts of the Bronx and Queens, by about 38 points over Republican candidate Tina Forte, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
Harris beat Trump in Queens by 24 percentage points and in the Bronx by 46 points, according to NBC News. Across all five boroughs, Harris won by about a 68%-30% margin but was about 8 points behind President Biden's lead in 2020.
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Republicans may have made in-roads in New York City in comparison to the previous 2020 presidential election results. Detailed maps by the NYC Election Atlas illustrate the differences in results by election districts, showing Queens and Brooklyn, in particular, leaning more red this cycle than previously.
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"Trump and AOC were leading with the message of working-class pocketbook issues. This has been AOC -- income inequality, wealth disproportionate to the rest of the country, top 1% -- that's been her consistent message, and I would say, Trump led with that message," Jason Ortiz, a New York City-based political strategist and longtime Democrat, told NBC New York.
A national NBC News Exit Poll reported finances were top of mind in 10 key states on Election Day with 80% of Republican voters surveyed labeling the economy as a priority. The same percentage of Democratic voters believed the state of democracy was the most important issue.
Ortiz, CEO of the consulting firm Moonshot, compared elections to popularity contests, and believes Trump's agenda is "not looking out for" New Yorkers' concerns.
Experts agree that Trump's campaign hit attractive talking points, like offering a break from the establishment and alleviating concerns of Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck, which is almost a quarter of the country, according to a recent Bank of America study.
Strategists advise the Democratic Party not to overreact, comparing this time to the Trump loss in 2020 when the Republican Party, whether or not members were in total agreement, stuck by their candidate.
"She's [Ocasio-Cortez] never been one to hedge. I think voters feel like they want somebody who doesn't hedge. I think the Democratic Party has hedged their bets for way too long," said Camille Rivera, partner at New Deal Strategies, who remarks the Democratic Party has become a "party of elites."
