Ocasio-Cortez raised nearly $15 million total in the first half of 2025 from 736,000 contributions, an average of $20 a donor. Notably, her fundraising spiked after the March announcement that she would join Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ national “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.
So, here’s the problem. $15M is a lot of money to a schlub. But it’s not a lot to a billionaire.
Michael Bloomberg went through a cool $1B out of his own pocket over 100 days to place 4th in the 2020 Dem Primary. Then he turned around and dropped another $150M into liberal-aligned PACs and campaigns going into the general. In 2024, he dropped $20M into various House races and another $10M into House Majority PAC just in May. This, while his Republican peer Timmothy Mellon injected another $200M into various races, primarily through the Trump SuperPAC.
AOC’s fundraising would have been admirable in any election cycle, as an individual. But she’s still a small fish in an enormous pond when it comes to billionaire spending. And that’s long before we get to the degree of influence a guy like Bloomberg or Bezos or Murdoch wields when they flat out own entire news networks.
If you’re wondering why AOC can’t get the time of day when she’s angling for a committee chairmanship, despite being the third largest fundraiser in the House, that’s why. Her haul pales beside what a plutocrat roosting in Martha’s Vineyard or Silicon Valley can crap out on a whim.
So, here’s the problem. $15M is a lot of money to a schlub. But it’s not a lot to a billionaire.
Michael Bloomberg went through a cool $1B out of his own pocket over 100 days to place 4th in the 2020 Dem Primary. Then he turned around and dropped another $150M into liberal-aligned PACs and campaigns going into the general. In 2024, he dropped $20M into various House races and another $10M into House Majority PAC just in May. This, while his Republican peer Timmothy Mellon injected another $200M into various races, primarily through the Trump SuperPAC.
AOC’s fundraising would have been admirable in any election cycle, as an individual. But she’s still a small fish in an enormous pond when it comes to billionaire spending. And that’s long before we get to the degree of influence a guy like Bloomberg or Bezos or Murdoch wields when they flat out own entire news networks.
If you’re wondering why AOC can’t get the time of day when she’s angling for a committee chairmanship, despite being the third largest fundraiser in the House, that’s why. Her haul pales beside what a plutocrat roosting in Martha’s Vineyard or Silicon Valley can crap out on a whim.