Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has not yet said who she thinks should be crowned the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2020. But the Bronx Democrat certainly has opinions on who should not be the candidate to face President Trump next year.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is “not a pragmatic choice,” Ocasio-Cortez told Vogue, arguing that the current Democratic primary front-runner would appeal mostly to voters who would otherwise support President Trump — that is, white voters.
“That’s my frustration with politics today, that they’re willing to give up every single person in America just for that dude in a diner,” the New York lawmaker said.
She added, “Just so that you can get this very specific slice of Trump voters? If you pick the perfect candidate like Joe Biden to win that guy in the diner, the cost will make you lose because you will depress turnout as well. And that’s exactly what happened to 2016. We picked the logically fitting candidate, but that candidate did not inspire the turnout that we needed.”
Biden is polling in first place in the 2020 Democratic primary, enjoying a comfortable 15-point lead ahead of the second-place candidate, Bernie Sanders, according to the current RealClearPolitics polling average.
However, even with this clear advantage in the polls, Ocasio-Cortez is not alone in saying Biden is the wrong man for the job. Former interim Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean agreed Wednesday morning that Biden would be a bad choice to lead the charge against Trump.
“If we have two old white guys at the top of this ticket, we will lose,” Dean said. Brazile agreed, saying, “I am looking forward to seeing a woman on the ticket — top, bottom, I don’t care. We are ready for the change.”
Whether their naysaying will be enough to cool Democratic voters’ support for Biden is yet to be seen.
As for Ocasio-Cortez, she has not yet endorsed a candidate in the 2020 primary. She has, however, said she is open to the idea of supporting either Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that this would be a serious boon for whoever lands her endorsement. And all this as an Ocasio-Cortez-backed liberal candidate made an impressive showing Tuesday evening in the Queens, N.Y., district attorney race, apparently winning the Democratic nomination.
It seems a bit premature for someone who has been in Congress for only 173 days to be getting in on the kingmaking business. But if you’ve got it, I guess you’ve got it.
