Gulf Today

Ocasio-cortez strikes hard with political merchandis­e

- Jason Lange,

US Representa­tive Alexandria OcasioCort­ez became one of America’s most prominent progressiv­e Democrats with her calls to tax the wealthy and spend heavily to fight climate change.

Now she is investing heavily in her online store, selling T-shirts, sweatshirt­s and other merchandis­e with her name, “AOC” initials or slogans including “Tax the Rich” and “Fight for our Future,” efforts aimed at both fundraisin­g and building the second-term lawmaker’s profile nationally. Her campaign paid political merchandis­e firm Financial Innovation­s, which operates her online store and supplies merchandis­e, more than $1.4 million in the first six months of 2021, according to campaign disclosure­s to the Federal Election Commission late last week. That is more than many lawmakers spent on their entire re-election efforts during the period, and nearly double her payments made over the prior two years to Financial Innovation­s, a Cranston, Rhode Island firm that specialize­s in political merchandis­e for Democrats.

Political T-shirts and campaign swag were once a rarity on America’s streets, the sign of a campaign volunteer or politics junkie. That changed markedly over the last six years as Donald Trump supporters adopted his trademark red “Make America Great Again” cap.

In addition to raising a candidate’s profile — and standing as a badge of identity in an increasing­ly polarized nation — political merchandis­e is a small but significan­t fundraisin­g tool. Ocasio-cortez’ push into merchandis­e shows she is honing an already formidable fundraisin­g operation and building her brand within the Democratic Party. “It’s a sign she is nurturing her massive influence,” said Andrew Frawley, who managed the merchandis­e operation for Andrew Yang’s 2020 presidenti­al campaign — including his “Math” T-shirts. While she has no formal party leadership role, Ocasio-cortez has star power rarely seen in the US Congress. She has more than 8 million Instagram followers and last year shot a video for Vogue detailing her personal skin care routine. Her online store capitalize­s on her fame, experts said.

“There’s the campaign finance aspect of it and, for lack of a beter term, there’s the cult of personalit­y aspect of it,” said Ciara TorresSpel­liscy, who studies political branding at Stetson University. Since defeating the then-chair of the House Democratic caucus in a 2018 primary and easily winning her seat to represent a swath of New York City, Ocasio-cortez has become the face of progressiv­e Democrats’ push for a “Green New Deal,” a set of climate goals. She faces litle risk of losing her seat in a heavily liberal district when US voters next year determine which party will control Congress for the second half of President Joe Biden’s term. Kiley Bolton, 22, a college student in Leander, Texas, said she gets both compliment­s and eye rolls when she wears her “Tax The Rich” sweatshirt she bought from Ocasio-cortez’s campaign.

“I like what it stands for and I like AOC,” Bolton said. Merchandis­e sales count as campaign contributi­ons but it’s not clear how much T-shirts and hoodies are bringing to Ocasio-cortez’ coffers. Campaign disclosure­s rarely specify whether a donation involved merchandis­e. Frawley said the Ocasio-cortez campaign could be making a 50% profit or more on much of its sales. Using merchandis­e sales to grow her fundraisin­g could help her wield more influence in the Democratic Party, by allowing her to support candidates who share her goals, said Bruce Newman, a political scientist who edits the Journal of Political Marketing.

Already, her fundraisin­g hauls look more like what’s raised by party leaders or senators.

Her campaign has raised about $6.9 million since the November election, compared to $10.8 million by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and $23.9 million by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, who is up for re-election in 2022 and viewed as a potential primary target for Ocasio-cortez.

 ?? Nancy Pelosi ??
Nancy Pelosi
 ?? Alexandria Ocasio-cortez ??
Alexandria Ocasio-cortez

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