AOC loses to 74-year-old Gerry Connolly for top role on key committee
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lost to Rep. Gerry Connolly Tuesday in a bid for ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. The 35-year-old lost 131-84 in the closed door caucus vote.
Ocasio-Cortez had her work cut out for her from the very start, as the 74-year-old Connolly—a senior member of the committee—had former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi campaigning for votes on his behalf. Last week, Pelosi was “actively working to tank” Ocasio-Cortez’s bid for the position, per Punchbowl News. Connolly also secured an endorsement from the powerful Steering and Policy Committee, which typically steers the vote.
Connolly’s win comes just over a month after he announced he was battling esophageal cancer.
Despite the odds stacked against the polarizing progressive, Ocasio-Cortez kept her head held high following her loss.
“Tried my best. Sorry I couldn’t pull it through everyone - we live to fight another day. ♥️,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote via BlueSky.
The progressive has a history of leaning much further left than senior Democrats, which has seemingly pitted her against some of her Democratic colleagues. AOC, however, has become one of the most high-profile members of the committee as she echoes the voices of many younger progressives. Her popularity—and knack for grabbing attention—also translated to support from other committee members leading up to the vote.
“She’s a very effective messenger, and that’s kind of the conclusion people have drawn from this election—that we haven’t had effective messengers,” Rep. Judy Chu told Politico.
While Democrats have been scrambling for an answer to reach younger voters in the same way as Donald Trump’s campaign, it appears Ocasio-Cortez—who broke from party ideals in calls for Medicare for All and Palestinian support—does not have their vote of confidence just yet.