Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stressed the need of recognizing “the upside” of uncommitted voters ahead of the 2024 elections, arguing that winning them over would be key to the Democratic Party.
The New York congresswoman argued that people who are voting uncommitted in various primaries are not walking away from the voting process, but are instead using it to voice their frustration against Democratic lawmakers. Another upside that Ocasio-Cortez pointed to is that while these voters are upset with Democrats, they also are not giving their support to former President Donald Trump.
“The Democratic Party has always been a coalition party, and we have to bring everybody together every time, because that’s what it means to be American,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an appearance on CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “And so they are offering and saying, ‘This is what’s important to us.’ A lasting peace is what’s important to us.”
Recent primary elections in the Democratic Party have seen a significant number of voters choose “uncommitted” instead of casting their ballot for President Joe Biden. These votes come as many have spoken out against his handling of the war in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.
Ocasio-Cortez admitted that there is a “complex political fabric” on the topic of the war in Gaza, and suggested that Democrats and voters acknowledge “the pain that we’re holding.” She added that if the Democratic Party can achieve this with voters, they can start coming together ahead of the election.
“And so right now these are folks who want to be seen, I think they’re using this process to be seen, and it’s best that we do that now than for folks to stay home in November.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Colbert then asked Ocasio-Cortez if she would be voting to reelect Biden, to which she said yes.
The topic of uncommitted voters could pose a problem for Biden in the presidential election, which is looking to be a rematch between him and Trump, the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party. Both Michigan and North Carolina saw over 10% of voters vote either “uncommitted” or “no preference” in their Democratic primary elections. Biden is trailing behind Trump in both of these states in polling data released last week.