Runners who took part in an event organised by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn't know they were donating to her campaign.

The New York Democrat, 29, held a 5k run in Queens on Saturday that she described as 'a Family Fun Run supporting U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.'

But many of the 400 runners didn’t realize their $30 registration fees were going directly into the lawmaker’s campaign funds, the New York Post reported.

Runners who took part in an event organised by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (pictured) didn't know they were donating to her campaign

'We’re getting together for our own health, for our planet’s health … and to fight for the Green New Deal together,' the freshman Democrat told the participants before they set off.

Supporters jogged through Astoria Park alongside a AOC, who walked the route and believed their money was going to help save the planet.

'It’s going to help raise awareness and educate people,' a female runner told The Post.

'I think it’s really for this particular New Green Deal,' said Brian Schwartz of Long Island. 'No question.'

Another woman claimed: 'It’s to help the environment. To support the Green New Deal. It’s a good cause.'

A notice on AOC’s Facebook page claiming that the run would support 'U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & the Green New Deal' added to the confusion.

However full disclosure was made in the fine print, which participants may have been unaware of.

'Registration fees are contributions to AOC for Congress,' reads the legal disclosure on aoc5k.com, which lists the Federal Election Commission rules that donors must follow.

The freshman lawmaker posted pictures and stories on her Instagram page throughout the day on Saturday as supporters took part in a 5k run organized by her

Ocasio-Cortez shared many pictures of her meeting and greeting runners at the Queens event

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez looked like she was having a great time as she sang along to song played by the band Fogo Azul in Astoria Park

'It was a campaign fundraiser,' Ocasio-Cortez spokesman Corbin Trent confirmed that the event was in fact a campaign fundraiser.

198 runners came from the Bronx and from Queens neighborhoods within the 14th congressional district at Saturday's run. The remaining 200 came from other areas.

Children as young as three took part with a $20 fee to join the kids 1k. It is understood participants paid $11,000 in total.

Some participants felt told the New York Post they were felt they were taken in by the misleading advertising.

'The site says it’s to benefit her environmental plan,' said one supporter who would not give his name. 'If it is going to go directly to her campaign they should have said so.'

Children as young as three took part in the fun run with a $20 fee to join the kids 1k

Another person claimed that it did not bother her. She said: 'Even if that’s so, it’s because it’s her plan and she is the one we need to push it.'

In March the Senate roundly rejected Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal as expected on Tuesday with not a single senator voting 'yes' for the progressive star's signature policy initiative.

She defended herself after the defeat and argued she encouraged the Democratic senators to vote 'present' instead of in the affirmative.

Democrats slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for holding a 'sham' vote on the matter - it was a non-binding resolution, meaning it had no force of law, and needed 60 votes to advance in the legislative process, which was an impossible task given Democrats only have 47 votes in their corner.

Most of the Democrats voted 'present' in protest while Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, who represents the red state of West Virginia; Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona; and Doug Jones of Alabama voted no, as did Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats.

All the presidential contenders in the Senate have signed on as co-sponsors of Ocasio-Cortez's signature legislation: Sens. Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Gillibrand.

Ocasio-Cortez uses social media widely for fundraising events and for her Congress activity

Her plan, unveiled in January, aims to transform the U.S. economy, combat climate change and create thousands of jobs in renewable energy.

It could also serve as a central campaign issue in 2020 despite President Donald Trump’s failure to mention climate change in his State of the Union address.

However the Mercatus Center at George Washington University estimate that Ocasio-Cortez's plan for universal Medicare would end up costing more than $30 trillion.

This is after factoring in the sweeping tax hikes that would offset the expense by only roughly $2 trillion.

Charles Blahous, a senior strategist at the Mercatus Center and an author of the study, later charged that Ocasio-Cortez had wildly misinterpreted his study to try to argue that 'Medicare-for-all' would save money.

The nonbinding resolution calls for a "10-year national mobilization" on the scale of the original New Deal to shift the economy away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

The plan goes far beyond energy to urge national health care coverage and job guarantees, as well as high-quality education and affordable housing.

The resolution urges elimination of fossil fuels pollution and greenhouse gas emissions “as much as technologically feasible” in a range of economic sectors and calls for “upgrading all existing buildings in the United States” to be energy-efficient.

Many of the 400 runners taking part in Saturday's event didn’t realize their $30 registration fees were going directly into the lawmaker’s campaign funds

The Green New Deal push has seen resistance not only from Republicans, but also some key Democrats.

Senator Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, wasn't convinced by plans about the plan to replace planes with high-speed rail and did not seem impressed.

'That would be pretty hard for Hawaii,' she laughed.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi similarly appeared to dismiss the plan.

'It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,' Pelosi told Politico.

'The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it, right?.'

Critics claimed that the plan would cost trillions of dollars and will have no positive effects on infrastructure.

The Green New Deal also proposes retrofitting every existing building in the U.S.. One estimate finds it would cost $1.4 trillion for residential buildings alone.