WASHINGTON _ New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is expected to endorse Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president this weekend, a source with knowledge of the endorsement confirmed Tuesday night.
The 30-year-old outspoken freshman, who with Sanders and other liberals has become a regular feature in Republican attack ads warning Democratic victories in 2020 would lead to socialism, will attend a Sanders rally in New York City on Saturday. Sanders, 78, teased the event from the stage of the Democratic presidential debate.
Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement, first reported by The Washington Post, could boost Sanders' campaign as he returns to the campaign trail after suffering a heart attack. Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, and has worked to pull the Democratic caucus further to the left on issues such as climate change.
"We're super excited about Saturday," Ocasio-Cortez's campaign spokesman Corbin Trent said late Tuesday. He declined to comment on whether she would be backing Sanders at the rally.
Sanders teased a "special guest" at an upcoming rally when asked during the debate how he would assure voters he could handle the stresses of the presidency following his heart attack.
"Well, let me invite you all to a major rally we're having in Queens, New York, BernieSanders.com. We're going to have a special guest at that event, and we're going to be mounting a vigorous campaign all over this country," Sanders said. "That is how I think I can reassure the American people."
Ocasio-Cortez worked as an organizer for Sanders' unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign before deciding to run for office herself. She also hit the campaign trail with Sanders in 2018, backing a primary candidate in a Kansas House race after Ocasio-Cortez unseated House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowly in a primary. That Kansas candidate, Brent Welder, went on to lose his primary.
