AOC Campaigns For El-Sayed: Once You Elect One Person, People Will Catch On And Elect More People Like That
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/10/15/aoc_campaigns_for_el-sayed_once_you_elect_one_person_people_will_catch_on_and_elect_more_people_like_that.html

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaigned on Thursday with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in Escanaba, MI on his "Shouldn't Be This Hard" town hall tour. Earlier this month, AOC told donors if "Abdul can win in Michigan, anybody can win anywhere." (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/10/06/alexandria_ocasio-cortez_if_abdul_can_win_in_michigan_anybody_can_win_anywhere.html)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Abdul is not a typical politician. He's not a typical candidate. Because we see what is happening out here. We know how ugly things can get right before an election. And we see all of the terrible, divisive, angry things that go out there. And the reality is, that's all being done. Because he doesn't take their money.

And so, they have to link it. Airwaves, stuff in people's mailboxes, in trying to get you to think of some caricature, so that you close your ears before you even hear what this man has to say. Because if you actually hear what Abdul is saying, we will challenge the status quo and politics as usual in America.

Abdul doesn't use a dime in lobbyist money from anybody. Abdul doesn't take money from the pharmaceutical lobbyists, from the insurance lobbyists. He doesn't take money from Wall Street. And what he says, is that if working people come together across geography, race, difference, and fight, so that we all can guarantee healthcare in America, so that we all can support our schools in America, and we all take on these monopolies that are driving up our prices and making our lives impossible, then we will have a better world, and a fairer shape. And because once you elect one person like that, people will then catch on, and we will start electing more people like that. And so, there's a lot of money and a lot of interest in making sure that nobody can open their ears or their eyes to even give this guy a shot.

But what he's doing out here is choosing to take that on head-on and be vulnerable, and also to actually engage with the people of Michigan before an election, which is how politics is supposed to be. But how many times have we heard about people... I mean, truly, how many town halls do you see the average member of the United States Senate doing? None. I mean, I don't know the numbers, but I wonder how many real town halls someone like Mike Rogers did when he was elected office. So, what we're seeing right now is not a promise of how he's going to be.