GOP governor hopeful fundraising off feud with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The Republican gubernatorial candidate who called Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez “this girl” is fundraising off the progressive candidate’s response to his comments, HuffPost reports.

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who is running to be the next governor of Florida, faced some criticism for referring to the self-described democratic socialist as “this girl Ocasio-Cortez or whatever she is” at a campaign event over the weekend. 

DeSantis used Ocasio-Cortez’s comments responding to his statement in a fundraising email sent Thursday.

{mosads}

“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the new socialist face of the Democrat Party, is accusing me of having a problem with her personal identity,” the email reads, according to The Huffington Post.

“No. I have a problem with her socialist policies,” he continued.

DeSantis added that the “attacks are political correctness run amuck [sic].”

HuffPost reported that the email links to a page titled “Stand up to the Liberal Mob,” which then sends people to a fundraising page for DeSantis.

Ocasio-Cortez hit back at DeSantis’s original comment in a tweet Monday, saying that the GOP lawmaker seems “confused as to ‘whatever I am.’”

“I am a Puerto Rican woman. It‘s strange you don’t know what that is, given that ~75,000 Puerto Ricans have relocated to Florida in the 10 mos since María,” she continued. 

Rep DeSantis, it seems you‘re confused as to “whatever I am.”

I am a Puerto Rican woman. It‘s strange you don’t know what that is, given that ~75,000 Puerto Ricans have relocated to Florida in the 10 mos since María.

But I’m sure these new FL voters appreciate your comments! https://t.co/xJlroSe5Hs

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) July 23, 2018

DeSantis defended his comments on Wednesday, saying that Ocasio-Cortez has previously referred to herself as “a girl from the Bronx.”

“I would note, she referred to herself as ‘a girl from the Bronx’ on Stephen Colbert’s show,” DeSantis said during an appearance on Fox News.