Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has raked in a staggering $9.6 million in the first quarter of the year, smashing a personal fundraising record as the New York Democrat continues to gain traction as a rising contender for the 2028 presidential nomination. The figure is more than double her second-highest quarter, when she raised $4.4 million in the summer of 2020, Politico reported Tuesday. “AOC had her strongest ever quarter, raising over $9.5m from 266k individual donors for an average of just $21,” Ocasio-Cortez’s senior adviser Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben posted on X. “AOC doesn’t take a dollar from lobbyists or corporate PACS. Our top donor professions are teachers and nurses. 64% were first-time contributors.” A March CNN poll found Ocasio-Cortez leading among Democrats and left-leaning independents as the politician who best reflects the party’s core values, edging out Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders. She topped the list with 10 percent support, just ahead of Harris at 9 percent and Sanders at 8 percent.
