Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent out an email asking supporters to donate for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway in New York City. “Thanksgiving is two weeks away. Will you chip in $5 or anything you can today to help us bring the joy of the holiday season into homes around NYC this year?” the message read.
But those who clicked the link found themselves on ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform, contributing directly to her campaign. The page included a disclosure: paid for by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress, with donations not qualifying as charitable deductions.
This approach differs from her past efforts. In 2021, she raised more than $33,500 for local charities. Last year, her campaign spent $13,101 at a Bronx food supplier just before the holiday. Now, with whispers of a Senate bid or even a 2028 presidential run circulating, the funds flow straight to her political coffers, which already hold an impressive $11.8 million in cash reserves.
Critics aren’t buying the holiday spirit. Former City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli questioned the setup: “A campaign is not supposed to be a pass-through for charitable work. What if she raised enough money for a million turkeys? Would she buy a million turkeys, or would she keep $990,000 for her campaign and then throw the rest of the turkeys out the back of a truck and take a photo-op?”
Queens City Councilman Robert Holden, a fellow Democrat, called it out too: “Socialists like AOC and Mamdani love to promise everything for free, but somehow it always ends with them shaking down working people under the guise of community good will. It is a typical bait and switch, pretending to be for the people while quietly pillaging them for every dollar they can get.”
Paul Kamenar from the National Legal and Policy Center went further: “She’s pitching: give it to me to help out people, and then it says it’s going to her benefit. It’s a ‘shady deal she’s cooking up here. It appears that AOC’s turkey giveaway project may be a fraudulent scheme to solicit donations for her campaign.’”
Even the Republican National Committee weighed in through spokesperson Kiersten Pels: “Ocasio-Cortez is running a con under the guise of a charity drive. Slapping a ‘turkey’ label on a campaign fundraiser to trick voters into thinking they’re helping charities is exactly the kind of scam that she and the socialist wing of the Democratic Party rely on.”
Among more than a dozen New York politicians hosting turkey drives this year, only AOC and Rep. Gregory Meeks routed funds through their campaigns, with AOC uniquely soliciting public donations this way. Others partner with businesses or charities directly, avoiding the campaign middleman.
Her team defended the method. Campaign manager Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben explained: “For our Thanksgiving turkey fundraiser, we set a goal that we raise towards and if we surpass it then we order more.”
In an Instagram story, AOC claimed success: “We’ve been able to provide over 1,600 turkeys in the Bronx, and then all of your support and fundraising has raised an additional $20,000 above our raise goal which we are giving 100% to local food pantries to help feed families this Thanksgiving.”
Questions linger about transparency. Federal rules don’t require disclosure of how much is raised or spent on such events when tied to campaigns, leaving donors in the dark on whether their money buys birds or builds ballot influence. This tactic might just be the tip of the iceberg in how some politicians blend goodwill with self-interest, especially as ambitions grow.
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