Ocasio-Cortez floating progressive sub-caucus

Democratic New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a new darling of the left, is floating a “sub-caucus” for progressive members of the House who want to increase their influence by voting together. 

Ocasio-Cortez promoted the idea during a podcast published Monday by Jacobin Magazine, a socialist news organization. 

Though there is a 78-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, Ocasio-Cortez said it does not frequently vote as a unit. She said a smaller progressive bloc, made up of 10-30 members, could “generate real power” if it operated together.

“If you can even carve out a caucus of 10, 30 people, it does not take a lot, if you operate as a bloc vote, to really make strong demands on things,” she said.

{mosads}Ocasio-Cortez made waves last month when she won her district’s primary in an upset win over incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), the fourth-ranking House Democrat who many floated as a potential future Democratic Speaker of the House.

The 28-year-old former campaign organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won on a progressive platform that included abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and promoting universal health care.

Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist, told the Jacobin that a progressive sub-caucus could be powerful in a Congress with a slim Democratic majority.

Ocasio-Cortez’s win has inspired insurgent liberal candidates across the U.S. ahead of November’s midterm elections, in which Democrats will be trying to retake the House.