Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) is the youngest and one of the most progressive members of the 116th Congress. Since being sworn in, she has made news and evoked reactions from those who follow politics -- with progressives viewing her as great and conservatives viewing her as terrible.
What does the general public think? Do they like her, or or they scared of her? The answer lies in the chart above. Among registered voters she has a favorable rating of 27% and an unfavorable rating of 33% -- with about 40% not knowing enough about her to take a position. Women are slightly more favorable and men are slightly more unfavorable.
Frankly, she's not as well known in the country as the talking heads on cable news seem to think. Even among Democrats, she has only a 48% favorable rating. About 40% still don't know enough to rate her, and 12% have an unfavorable opinion.
Some progressives want to think of her as a rising star in the party. She's might be someday, but she's not there yet. The public's opinion is too mixed, and she's yet to win over a majority of Democrats.
I have high hopes for Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. I like her youthful exuberance, her progressive views, and her willingness to jump into the fray. But there are a couple of things that bother me. First is her willingness to attack fellow Democrats. Second is her voting with Republicans sometimes to oppose compromise measures.
I hope she tempers those problems with a little more experience in Congress. She will learn that sometimes she'll need her fellow Democrats to accomplish her goals, even those who don't agree with her on everything. And she will learn that compromise is not a bad thing -- that it is better to get what you want in small steps than to not get it at all. At least, I hope she'll learn those lessons (as other progressives have done).
The chart above reflects the results of a new Politico / Morning Consult Poll -- done on February 1st and 2nd of a national sample of 1,993 registered voters, with a 2 point margin of error.
