Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) publicly declined Sunday to endorse Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist seeking the Wisconsin governor's nomination, during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week."
Ocasio-Cortez said her primary objective is "winning back the Congress, winning back the House and positioning ourselves to have the best chance possible to win the Senate."
Hong previously advocated for policies such as abolishing prisons, defunding the police and canceling Thanksgiving. The gubernatorial candidate said her positions on those issues have shifted.
Ocasio-Cortez said that while many races tend to become nationalized, they are ultimately local contests. She added that "all politics are local" and that Hong has presented her platform clearly to her electorate.
Host Jonathan Karl pressed Ocasio-Cortez on her current stance on defunding the police, a concept she previously amplified. The New York representative said the COVID-19 period was a time when an "Overton window" opened due to shutdowns and high unemployment, prompting consideration of many policy ideas.
She called the discussions from that period "quite fruitful" and said contemporary conversations about crime differ from past approaches, with a shared goal of achieving the lowest possible crime rate.
Ocasio-Cortez added that the rhetoric used during the lockdown period "is not rhetoric that we would use today." She said candidates now have the chance "to present who they are to their electorate and what they're campaigning on in this moment."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the national chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America have also declined to endorse Hong, placing Ocasio-Cortez's decision in line with a broader retreat by prominent progressive figures.
