by Statement from the Steering Committee of Reform & Revolution, April 7, 2026.
It is without a doubt that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) will be endorsed by NYC-DSA at tomorrow night’s (4/8) snap Citywide Leadership Committee (CLC) meeting. Her recent statements against direct US funding for Israeli weapons at the 3/31 NYC-DSA endorsement forum are a welcome development and reflective of the growth of the organized socialist left, years of pressure from the Palestine solidarity movement, and considerable shifts in public opinion. Nonetheless, R&R has serious concerns about the strength of AOCs commitments at this forum and her overall politics.
It is clear that AOC is not representative of DSA’s political consensus. During the 2022 railroad dispute, against DSA’s statement that “Any member of Congress who votes yes on the tentative agreement is siding with billionaires and forcing a contract on rail workers that does not address their most pressing demand of paid sick days,” AOC lined up with the Biden administration to do just that, and later endorsed Biden/Harris for re-election in 2024. She has supported funding for the war in Ukraine and does not take any kind of consistent, oppositional stance towards the two parties of Wall Street. Even just one day after the endorsement forum, she described the Iron Dome as a positive good that Israel should continue to fund themselves, in stark contrast to reality.
Many in DSA point out, correctly, that AOC was elected to a high-level office very early in our political rebirth, at a time which preceded our present collective standards for our Socialists in Office. Individual politicians cannot effectively withstand the hostile pressures of office in isolation, especially when they do not actively choose to take a political lead from DSA. AOC will face increased pressure to skirt around and water down her commitments in the coming months, and only the unfolding course of struggle will determine their strength. R&R maintains that any DSA support for AOC must incorporate criticism of her political shortcomings in order to strengthen working class and socialist organizing and fight for a better world.
We believe the best possible contribution DSA can make is to go all-out for NYC-DSA’s other two endorsed Congressional candidates, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, and for National DSA to work with NYC to build a strong, participatory Federal Socialists in Office Committee. By expanding the socialist bloc in Congress, DSA will be better able to advance a clear political message and act as a cohesive, independent force — a force which doesn’t rely on any single politician for national political relevance.
