No one (not even her critics) can accuse Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) of not having an impeccable social-media game. Even more tellingly, it’s obvious that she writes her own tweets, and whether she’s jousting with Big Oil or calling out silly and sexist takes from the GOP about fashion, AOC is equally at ease while confronting opponents. On Election Tuesday, however, AOC found herself in the position of talking to her own party while the U.S. as a whole awaits presidential results.
Granted, AOC certainly had reason to celebrate. She won her second-term bid for New York’s 14th congressional district, and other members of “The Squad” (Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, all women of color like AOC) also won relection. AOC’s victory was no surprise, however, unlike the disconcerting non-results for the biggest election race in the U.S. Since multiple battleground areas won’t post results for days (possibly not until Friday), AOC had advice different from that of CNN’s Jake Tapper (who warned, “Don’t get high on your own supply”). AOC believes that Biden could have adopted a more Latino-friendly strategy with the Latino community.
“I won’t comment much on tonight’s results as they are evolving and ongoing,” AOC tweeted. “[B]ut I will say we’ve been sounding the alarm about Dem vulnerabilities w/ Latinos for a long, long time… There is a strategy and a path, but the necessary effort simply hasn’t been put in.”
I won’t comment much on tonight’s results as they are evolving and ongoing, but I will say we’ve been sounding the alarm about Dem vulnerabilities w/ Latinos for a long, long time.
There is a strategy and a path, but the necessary effort simply hasn’t been put in ⬇️ https://t.co/HljnWYgeju
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 4, 2020
“We have work to do,” she added.
We have work to do. https://t.co/hkZiMgrqdE
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 4, 2020
It’s a fair set of statements, given that Biden did focus a lot more on the Rust Belts that Hillary Clinton did in 2016, but with Trump (almost certainly) taking Florida, Biden likely underperformed with a very important community in that state. Again, we probably won’t know for days whether this omission will cost Biden the election, but yep, AOC has certainly pointed out some room for Democratic improvement in the future.