WASHINGTON — Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is donating $1 million to left-wing Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, establishing herself as a progressive power broker ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in the closely watched race in Michigan.
“I will transfer a million dollars from our campaign in New York to the state of Michigan to help support all of you,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told supporters at an event as he searched for El-Sayed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on Thursday.
“So I don’t talk about it, I talk about it,” she said. The $1 million donation will go to Abdul for Michigan Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee.
AOC was the Chamber’s top fundraiser last year, with $23.5 million raised from deep-pocketed donors both inside and outside New York.
Currently, she has more than $17 million in cash on hand in her main campaign committee.
The “Squad” congresswoman, who is rumored to be considering a 2028 Senate challenge against Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) or a run for the White House, endorsed El-Sayed in July before defeating Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the Michigan Democratic primary.
“If Abdul can win in Michigan, anyone can win anywhere,” Ocasio-Cortez told donors at a fundraiser for the former public health official in New York, according to the New York Times.
Schumer had supported Stevens, who ran as the pro-Israel alternative to El-Sayed in the primaries.
The Michigan Senate race pits El-Sayed against repeat Republican candidate Mike Rogers, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a former FBI special agent.
This election is one of several that will determine party control of the Upper House next November, with Republicans currently holding a narrow 53-47 majority.
Ocasio-Cortez is just one of several Democratic stars following El-Sayed’s trail, with former President Barack Obama releasing an ad supporting the progressive candidate and headlining a rally with him later this month in Detroit.
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