Swing-state Democrats shun AOC in fall campaigns

• Ocasio-Cortez and her allies argue that her unapologetic advocacy for big progressive policies like Medicare for All would make candidates like her more electable than moderate liberals, but many Democrats in tight races this fall have disagreed.
• She was welcomed by many Democrats in competitive primary races, but some of those candidates have distanced themselves as they've moved to the center to take on Republicans in the Nov. 3 election.

Zoom in: Sam Forstag, a progressive House candidate in Montana who rallied with AOC in May en route to winning the Democratic primary, suggested that he doesn't want her to campaign for him in the conservative state for the general election.

• "I don't intend to be having a lot of folks from out of state campaigning with me over these next 40 days," he told Axios when asked about AOC stumping for him.
• Forstag has scrubbed Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement from his campaign's website.

Driving the news: Some Democrats in other close races have explicitly asked Ocasio-Cortez's team to stay away, party officials told Axios.

• "The polling is atrocious for her," said a senior Democratic strategist working in a key swing district. "She's a lightning rod."

AOC doesn't always tell national media about her events in advance, so we asked her team whether she has campaigned in person for any of the Democrats' top House or Senate candidates this cycle. They didn't point us to any.

• "Call us on Nov. 3," said her chief of staff, Mike Casca, suggesting she may do more events before Election Day.

Zoom out: In June, CNN reported that AOC's aides were "putting together a fall schedule meant to beta-test her appeal beyond a base that adores her."

• So far, that hasn't happened nationally.

In contrast, several of AOC's potential 2028 rivals for president — such as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — have been welcomed by Democratic candidates in competitive districts and states during the past month.

• Even former Vice President Kamala Harris — whose help has been resisted by some battleground candidates — has been welcomed by others.
• Harris was in Michigan with left-wing Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed last week and plans to campaign for statewide candidates in Georgia and Nevada.

The intrigue: In the final weeks of the Senate Democratic primary last month in Michigan — a key presidential swing state — El-Sayed had AOC campaign with him.

• He and his allies spent almost $1 million in TV ads featuring her, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
• But since winning the Democratic nomination, El-Sayed has spent almost nothing on ads featuring AOC. And she hasn't campaigned with El-Sayed as he's come under a barrage of attacks from Republican Mike Rogers, who's accused him of being too left-wing for Michigan.
• El-Sayed's campaign said they'd welcome Ocasio-Cortez back in the coming weeks. "There are a lot of Michiganders who can't wait to have AOC back in town," a spokesperson told us.

AOC did launch a campaign swing this week throughout New York with stops in Buffalo and Ithaca, but she's not campaigning in one of the country's most competitive House districts — the 17th District in the lower Hudson Valley.

• Cait Conley, a former Army officer and national security official in the Biden administration, told CNN this month that she would not campaign with AOC.
• But her opponent, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, has tried to tie Conley to Ocasio-Cortez — and has invited AOC to campaign in the district.
• Meanwhile, the GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund began running an ad last week linking Ocasio-Cortez to Conley. The spot called Conley "AOC's choice for Congress."

What they're saying: We asked Ocasio-Cortez what she thinks of Republicans using her name to try to hurt Conley.

• She said it won't work.
• "I invite them to spend even more money … because they're just setting it on fire," Ocasio-Cortez said, arguing that the GOP has been running the same anti-AOC playbook since she first won a seat in Congress in 2018.
• "I would rather them do this than something that's actually potentially effective," she added.

The other side: Ocasio-Cortez has campaigned for at least one red-state Democrat this month — Florida Senate nominee Angie Nixon.

• But Nixon is a fellow member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Democrats aren't counting on her to flip a Senate seat in a state that has drifted red.
• Virginia House candidate Tom Perriello, who's trying to flip a red seat, also welcomed AOC's fundraising support this month by splitting a donation with her.
• Ocasio-Cortez also campaigned with Rep. Josh Riley — who won his district by 2 points in 2024 — in Ithaca on Saturday. But Riley's district isn't as competitive this year. The national House Republican super PAC withdrew $4.8 million in ad reservations from the race, effectively abandoning it earlier this month.

Axios' Andrew Solender contributed to this report.