Investigative Group

Ocasio-Cortez’s Known Donors From Her Own District Are Nearly Non-Existent, FEC Records Show

(Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Andrew Kerr Investigative Reporter
Font Size:
  • Only 10 people who live within Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional district have been recorded making donations to her reelection campaign in 2019, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of available Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
  • Ocasio-Cortez outraised all other 87 freshmen representatives in the first half of 2019 in individual contributions, but the New York Democrat came in second-to-last place in terms of reported itemized contributions from the people she represents.
  • Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan also rank among the lowest-performing freshman representatives in terms of reported financial support from people who live within their districts.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has outraised all other freshmen representatives so far in 2019, but nearly all of her reported contributors to her reelection campaign live outside her congressional district, a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings found.

Ocasio-Cortez’s reelection campaign has reported receiving contributions from just 10 individuals living within her district in the first half of 2019, according to its Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

The FEC only requires that political campaigns disclose the names and addresses of individuals who contribute over $200 to their campaigns during an election. Campaigns report their big-dollar donors to the FEC in what’s called itemized contributions.

The $1,525.50 Ocasio-Cortez received from her New York constituents represents less than 1% of her campaign’s itemized contributions reported to the FEC in the first half of 2019.

The known monetary support Ocasio-Cortez’s reelection campaign has received from the people she represents is minuscule compared to the 88-member freshman class of the House of Representatives.

The average freshman representative’s reelection campaign received $107,141.29 in itemized contributions from their constituents in the first half of 2019, FEC filings the DCNF analyzed show. Ocasio-Cortez’s reported in-district fundraising haul of $1,525.50 was just 1.4% of that average.

The Ocasio-Cortez campaign didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment seeking additional information regarding how many of her un-itemized contributions came from her constituents.

However, Ocasio-Cortez holds a significant lead over the freshman class in the amount of small-dollar contributions she’s received. Just 17% of Ocasio-Cortez’s individual contributions were from big-dollar donors who gave over $200 to her campaign in the first half of 2019. The median freshman representative received nearly 89% of their individual contributions from big-dollar donors.

Each representative is answerable to a congressional district comprised of between 530,000 to 995,000 people, according to the U.S. Census. The DCNF determined which of Ocasio-Cortez’s donors came from her congressional district by comparing the nine-digit zip codes her contributors reported to the FEC to the House of Representatives ZipLook tool, which links nine-digit zip codes to congressional districts.

Only one freshman representative reported receiving less from their constituents than Ocasio-Cortez: Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas. Garcia’s reelection campaign reported itemized contributions of $14,400, all of which came from individuals with addresses outside her district.

Ocasio-Cortez’s apparent lackluster fundraising performance from her constituents lends credibility to a poll conducted by a conservative PAC in May. It found that only 20% of households in the representative’s district held a favorable opinion of her. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Could Have An Amazon-Sized Problem In Her Home District)

The data also reveal that two of Ocasio-Cortez’s colleagues in the so-called “Squad” of freshman Democratic congresswomen — Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — also rank among the lowest-performing freshman representatives in terms of reported financial support from people who live within their districts.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks as Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) listen during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on four progressive Democratic congresswomen, saying if they're not happy in the United States "they can leave." (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks as Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib listen during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

Tlaib reported receiving $470,430.11 in itemized contributions in the first half of 2019, but less than 2% came from individuals living within her district.

And while Omar reported $717,831.22 in itemized contributions to her reelection campaign so far in 2019, just over 4% came from her constituents.

A fourth squad member, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, far outperformed the others. The Massachusetts Democrat received more than 30% of her $248,280.78 itemized contributions from her constituents.

Freshman Republicans dominated freshman Democrats in receiving a greater share of their reported contributions from the people they represent.

Of the 10 freshman representatives who received the lowest percent of their itemized contributions from their constituents, eight are Democrats. On the other end, seven of the 10 top-performing freshman representatives in this category are Republicans.

Leading the freshman class in receiving the greatest share of itemized contributions from their constituents was Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson. Over 94% of Johnson’s itemized contributions of $129,250 came from people living within his district.

An Economist and YouGov survey in July found that Americans have a very unfavorable view of the “Squad.” Just 33% of Americans have a favorable view of Ocasio-Cortez, followed by Omar with a 25% combined favorability rating, Tlaib with 24%, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts with 22%.

Name Total Individual Contributions Total Big-Dollar Itemized Contributions (Donors over $200) Percent of Individual Contributions Itemized Itemized Contributions From Representative’s District
Percent of Itemized Contributions From Representative’s District
Sylvia Garcia (D) $19,254.66 $14,400.00 74.79% $0.00 0.00%
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) $1,942,358.67 $334,401.45 17.22% $1,525.50 0.46%
TJ Cox (D) $395,373.37 $334,075.74 84.50% $1,555.00 0.47%
Rashida Tlaib (D) $604,399.35 $470,430.11 77.83% $7,865.00 1.67%
Ilhan Omar (D) $1,429,170.08 $717,831.22 50.23% $30,361.50 4.23%
Katie Hill (D) $994,620.99 $792,096.73 79.64% $36,899.00 4.66%
Gil Cisneros (D) $293,657.74 $251,363.29 85.60% $11,737.00 4.67%
Josh Harder (D) $1,331,788.20 $1,190,090.89 89.36% $61,050.54 5.13%
Lance Gooden (R) $229,275.00 $228,350.00 99.60% $16,400.00 7.18%
Michael Waltz (R) $235,841.00 $226,950.00 96.23% $17,000.00 7.49%
Ben McAdams (D) $562,753.74 $523,677.14 93.06% $39,735.00 7.59%
Max Rose (D) $1,083,342.95 $1,027,208.78 94.82% $79,737.50 7.76%
Abby Finkenauer(D) $510,433.79 $429,354.16 84.12% $35,307.00 8.22%
Elissa Slotkin (D) $1,008,296.17 $880,282.11 87.30% $76,009.78 8.63%
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D) $803,875.30 $720,117.00 89.58% $77,048.00 10.70%
Lauren Underwood (D) $785,054.66 $606,567.28 77.26% $67,802.64 11.18%
Lucy McBath (D) $852,067.87 $595,127.82 69.85% $67,246.96 11.30%
Xochitl Torres Small (D) $740,294.03 $600,433.03 81.11% $69,325.00 11.55%
Katie Porter (D) $1,106,710.25 $773,992.24 69.94% $105,165.00 13.59%
Steven Horsford(D) $321,106.58 $299,119.14 93.15% $41,111.75 13.74%
Kelly Armstrong(R) $31,808.75 $29,043.75 91.31% $4,000.00 13.77%
Chuy García (D) $116,911.09 $102,467.00 87.65% $14,300.00 13.96%
Elaine Luria (D) $626,140.75 $549,765.38 87.80% $77,838.70 14.16%
Greg Steube (R) $67,179.00 $66,750.00 99.36% $9,600.00 14.38%
Dan Crenshaw(R) $934,942.34 $722,237.73 77.25% $104,285.00 14.44%
Angie Craig (D) $489,326.93 $397,086.45 81.15% $57,945.66 14.59%
Jared Golden (D) $373,097.56 $272,273.05 72.98% $39,822.48 14.63%
Greg Pence (R) $372,024.92 $130,370.50 35.04% $19,185.00 14.72%
David Trone (D) $118,713.50 $116,920.00 98.49% $17,500.00 14.97%
Andy Kim (D) $894,830.09 $757,055.24 84.60% $116,658.03 15.41%
Kim Schrier (D) $874,771.19 $759,192.50 86.79% $123,315.00 16.24%
Jason Crow (D) $726,335.19 $684,702.59 94.27% $121,412.50 17.73%
Antonio Delgado(D) $1,246,283.06 $1,113,731.28 89.36% $211,584.90 19.00%
Ann Kirkpatrick(D) $287,640.53 $211,797.48 73.63% $40,512.70 19.13%
Abigail Spanberger (D) $825,522.76 $672,998.41 81.52% $136,372.19 20.26%
Chip Roy (R) $502,204.08 $400,561.68 79.76% $86,014.00 21.47%
Van Taylor (R) $460,101.18 $451,135.18 98.05% $98,403.00 21.81%
Deb Haaland (D) $291,785.00 $259,050.14 88.78% $56,844.15 21.94%
Jim Hagedorn (R) $251,080.85 $232,460.85 92.58% $56,205.85 24.18%
Haley Stevens (D) $920,865.63 $807,461.19 87.69% $202,638.20 25.10%
Jim Baird (R) $14,125.00 $12,850.00 90.97% $3,500.00 27.24%
Anthony Gonzalez(R) $202,867.65 $195,425.64 96.33% $56,150.00 28.73%
Russ Fulcher (R) $23,412.00 $21,700.00 92.69% $6,450.00 29.72%
Anthony Brindisi(D) $591,627.59 $495,777.36 83.80% $149,782.36 30.21%
Ayanna Pressley(D) $312,985.29 $248,280.78 79.33% $75,482.00 30.40%
Sharice Davids(D) $643,902.57 $510,287.26 79.25% $160,247.59 31.40%
Jahana Hayes (D) $321,566.17 $240,832.36 74.89% $77,497.00 32.18%
Chrissy Houlahan(D) $501,713.67 $451,162.18 89.92% $146,122.84 32.39%
Cindy Axne (D) $641,431.92 $541,935.18 84.49% $175,809.96 32.44%
Denver Riggleman (R) $115,289.80 $88,935.00 77.14% $29,000.00 32.61%
Bryan Steil (R) $413,826.96 $371,915.78 89.87% $123,502.38 33.21%
Jennifer Wexton(D) $738,706.93 $652,496.66 88.33% $222,848.66 34.15%
Susie Lee (D) $594,593.86 $559,914.45 94.17% $194,685.20 34.77%
Mikie Sherrill (D) $735,156.28 $630,634.87 85.78% $222,515.32 35.28%
Ron Wright (R) $25,744.00 $25,450.00 98.86% $9,100.00 35.76%
Dan Meuser (R) $58,945.00 $57,500.00 97.55% $20,850.00 36.26%
Dean Phillips (D) $368,971.21 $322,445.50 87.39% $117,687.50 36.50%
Pete Stauber (R) $248,390.57 $204,844.87 82.47% $77,539.87 37.85%
Andy Levin (D) $72,648.11 $62,939.51 86.64% $24,314.51 38.63%
Chris Pappas (D) $397,280.19 $346,052.65 87.11% $134,811.00 38.96%
Guy Reschenthaler (R) $159,915.37 $92,962.00 58.13% $36,325.00 39.08%
Sean Casten (D) $711,623.71 $557,797.91 78.38% $218,961.20 39.25%
Greg Stanton (D) $244,635.67 $220,262.07 90.04% $87,482.85 39.72%
Mike Levin (D) $687,264.84 $575,308.89 83.71% $234,085.14 40.69%
Tom Malinowski(D) $930,251.46 $837,319.51 90.01% $342,988.50 40.96%
Lori Trahan (D) $512,259.11 $512,259.11 100.00% $216,498.92 42.26%
Donna Shalala (D) $553,638.60 $543,580.36 98.18% $232,725.36 42.81%
Madeleine Dean(D) $85,719.93 $70,318.00 82.03% $30,568.00 43.47%
Harley Rouda (D) $752,720.59 $665,979.51 88.48% $290,811.38 43.67%
Kendra Horn (D) $709,274.10 $587,073.61 82.77% $259,028.14 44.12%
Ross Spano (R) $153,105.00 $152,578.00 99.66% $70,178.00 45.99%
Steve Watkins (R) $129,128.67 $125,299.67 97.03% $59,899.67 47.81%
Joe Neguse (D) $303,243.93 $282,601.00 93.19% $135,826.00 48.06%
Colin Allred (D) $885,191.08 $835,283.96 94.36% $402,298.62 48.16%
William Timmons(R) $72,600.00 $72,300.00 99.59% $39,450.00 54.56%
Ben Cline (R) $131,142.00 $116,700.00 88.99% $66,200.00 56.73%
Joe Cunningham(D) $1,167,957.55 $1,044,744.28 89.45% $605,589.50 57.97%
Jeff Van Drew (D) $431,116.33 $413,768.76 95.98% $241,158.76 58.28%
Mark Green (R) $170,967.70 $170,967.70 100.00% $102,338.70 59.86%
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher (D) $828,585.72 $776,808.00 93.75% $466,978.08 60.11%
Carol Miller (R) $63,469.78 $62,100.00 97.84% $41,130.50 66.23%
John Rose (R) $222,280.00 $219,800.00 98.88% $160,200.00 72.88%
John Joyce (R) $111,178.62 $108,150.00 97.28% $85,750.00 79.29%
Ed Case (D) $26,383.00 $20,150.00 76.37% $16,150.00 80.15%
Michael Guest (R) $100,768.32 $97,682.52 96.94% $81,450.00 83.38%
Veronica Escobar(D) $139,776.83 $132,345.20 94.68% $113,645.20 85.87%
Tim Burchett (R) $236,254.00 $216,585.00 91.67% $196,250.00 90.61%
Dusty Johnson(R) $152,541.00 $137,050.00 89.84% $129,250.00 94.31%

Source: Federal Election Commission and https://ziplook.house.gov/zip/ziplook.html 

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel