Former president Barack Obama tweeted his endorsements for the 2018 midterm elections, a list that did not include socialist upstart Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Today I’m proud to endorse such a wide and impressive array of Democratic candidates – leaders as diverse, patriotic, and big-hearted as the America they’re running to represent: pic.twitter.com/gWzalQhFas
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 1, 2018
Ocasio-Cortez defeated Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic NY-14 primaries. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called her the “future of the Democratic Party.” Ocasio-Cortez has since advocated for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, expanding Medicare, and requiring taxpayers to fund government jobs for all unemployed people.
Given that Obama’s endorsements have a record of hurting candidates, the absence of an endorsement might work to Ocasio-Cortez’s benefit. In 2010, Republicans gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Many of Obama’s candidates for Congress and for governorships fell short in that election, leading some to question Obama’s influence.
His most famous failed endorsement was for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential elections. He claimed that current President Donald Trump would not win the election.
Ocasio-Cortez will likely clinch the seat for NY-14. Whether Democrats can reclaim the House or the Senate in a “blue wave” is less certain.
