Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-M.A.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) embrace. They are two of the most prominent members of the progressive “Justice Democrats” (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Amid intensifying battles with President Donald Trump and moderate forces within their own party, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and other progressive Democrats reaped millions of dollars in contributions from April through June, many of which came from the small donors the candidates champion.

Ocasio-Cortez raked in a stunning $1.2 million in contributions, including more than $1 million in small-dollar contributions, outraising Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The New Yorker’s fundraising is impressive for any representative more than a year before an election, let alone a freshman lawmaker. Cortez has been the subject of media attention since defeating longtime incumbent Joe Crowley in New York’s 14th Congressional District Democratic primary in 2018. Most recently she becoming embroiled in feuds with Pelosi and Trump.

She reigned supreme among all candidates tied to the Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee founded by former leaders of the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

The group’s membership includes seven current representatives and five candidates seeking office in 2020, including Cortez, Omar, Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-Mass.), and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the four progressive members of The Squad elected in the 2018 midterm cycle.

Omar raised an impressive $605,000 in the second quarter, exceeding both Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.). Nearly half of Omar’s campaign cash came from small donors.

Rounding out The Squad, Tlaib and Presley pulled in $302,000 and $177,000, respectively, with 21 percent and 17 percent coming from small donors. Their lower fundraising totals may stem from the relatively little media coverage the two have experienced compared to Cortez and Omar.

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One of the group’s lesser-known members, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) raised more than $433,000, although only 7 percent of his funds came from small contributions. Unlike other Justice Democrats, his campaign is mainly funded by large contributions from individuals in the technology and investments sector — his district is home to tech giants like Apple and Intel. Khanna is the number one recipient of funds from the venture capital industry.

All seven incumbent Justice Democrats are unopposed in 2020 primaries thus far, although moderate Democrats in Minnesota are reportedly searching for a challenger to take on Omar.

The Justice Democrats group is backing five candidates in congressional races across the country, hoping to replicate its 2018 success and replace moderate Democrats who the group sees as fighting for “just its corporate donors”.

In Illinois’s 3rd District, Marie Newman is mounting a strong challenge to long-time incumbent Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), one of the House’s most conservative Democrats. Newman’s campaign raised over $325,000 in the second quarter, slightly below Lipinski’s $363,000. Fifty-four percent of Newman’s money came from small-dollar donors as compared to only 7 percent of Lipinski’s.

Newman, who lost to Lipinski in a close primary in 2018, has been endorsed by 2020 presidential candidates former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as well as influential pro-abortion rights groups Planned Parenthood and NARAL.

In Texas, Jessica Cisneros, a former intern for Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), raised more than $147,000 in the second quarter in her race against her former boss, a far cry from Cuellar’s own $311,000 haul but an impressive sum considering she had only three weeks to fundraise after declaring on June 13.

Not all candidates are poised to launch viable challenges. Betsy Sweet, a candidate for Maine’s Senate seat backed by Justice Democrats, raised a little more than $80,000 between June 14 and the close of books on June 30.

Her fundraising is dwarfed by the gargantuan haul of fellow Democrat Sara Gideon, who raised more than $1 million in less than a week. Meanwhile, Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins raised more than $1.6 million for the quarter and has $5.4 million in the bank.



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