With the midterms on the horizon, vulnerable House Democrats have begun their rightward shift. They want to get reelected and they know that the Pelosi/AOC wing will result in defeat.
Fox News reporst that at ltease three vulnerable House Dems have reportedly returned campaign donations they received from the campaign of Democrat Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
"Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign sent $5,000 donations to several lawmakers facing tough campaigns in 2022. At least three such Democrats -- Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Ga., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Conor Lamb, D-Pa. -- have either declined the donations or committed to returning them…
The lawmakers are reportedly concerned that being tied to Ocasio-Cortez, who is an open Democratic socialist, would hurt them with swing voters.
Ocasio-Cortez’s payments reportedly went around the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which has butted heads with the second-term congresswoman.
Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign reportedly received wire transfer information from DCCC staffers without the higher-ups' approval. Typically, vulnerable members will swoop up any financial boost they can find, but this time the donations came unsolicited and with no warning."
Politico quotes a “Democratic consultant” who works for swing-seat members who is very angry with AOC over the donation, “the GOP has spent four years saying the frontliners are all socialists. Now they’ve got the receipts to prove it. Anyone telling themselves this won’t be in campaign ads is in denial.”
“…Ocasio-Cortez's money poses a problem for Democrats such as Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Slotkin, who represent more moderate turf and have sought to distance themselves from the left wing of the caucus. Many of the Democratic frontliners are particularly anxious this cycle after their party’s down-ballot disaster last November, which wiped out 13 incumbents. Even Democrats who clung onto their seats saw victory margins much closer than expected and remain shocked by inaccurate polling.
Now Republican campaigns have obvious fodder for attacks on many of those Democrats as “funded by” or “taking money from” Ocasio-Cortez. Past GOP attempts to elevate Ocasio-Cortez and other younger Democrats of color into bogeywomen haven't paid huge dividends with independent voters, but their effectiveness in motivating the Republican base means they're likely to continue — particularly as President Joe Biden looks to incorporate some of her priorities into his agenda.”