In Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‘s (D-NY) district, slews of voters elected her to a fourth term but also voted for President-elect Donald Trump. The congresswoman took to Instagram to seek answers on why voters split their tickets.
Ocasio-Cortez easily won reelection, and Vice President Kamala Harris also won the state’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn. However, Trump overperformed in various Democratic strongholds. In 2020, President Joe Biden won the Bronx by 68% and Brooklyn by 55%, while Harris only won the Bronx by 45% and Brooklyn by 43% Tuesday.
The New York congresswoman asked her followers to tell her why some of them may have voted for her but not Harris or voted Democratic in all races except the presidential race in other districts.
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“I’m LISTENING,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an Instagram story, with an ear emoji.
The responses the congresswoman received ranged from the antiestablishment nature of Ocasio-Cortez and Trump to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, among other answers.
“It’s real simple … trump and you care for the working class,” one response said.
“I feel like Trump and you are both real,” another response said.
“I feel like you both are outsiders compared to the rest of DC, and less ‘establishment,’” another person said with a shrugging emoji.
Several people also listed war and the conflict in the Middle East as key reasons for the split vote.
“Voted for trump and you, not genocide Harris. Dems need bernie!!” one person said, calling for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to lead the Democratic Party.
“He speaks of war as something that is bad. Democrats became the party that supports war,” another response said, noting Trump’s calls to end various wars, including in Gaza and Ukraine.
“Dems do better job at the local level, but are terrible at the macro level,” one person said, prompting Ocasio-Cortez to mention that she heard a similar sentiment from an Ohio voter.
In another story post, Ocasio-Cortez discussed the importance of people going on the phones and door-knocking to win over voters with their campaign message.
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She also answered one of her followers by saying the responses “make me want to barf,” with the congresswoman saying, “Sometimes you gotta dig in and see it to understand and adapt! Even if it makes you want to barf.”
Democrats on all levels are seeking answers on what went wrong with Tuesday’s elections, in which Trump won back the White House and Republicans won back the Senate. The Associated Press has yet to project control of the House, but it appears likely the GOP will also hold a majority in that chamber.