Progressive candidates backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) were unable to replicate the freshman lawmaker’s 2018 success on Super Tuesday, losing to better funded Democrats. 

In one of the more closely watched races, progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros narrowly lost to 15-year incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) in Texas’ 28th district. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement and strong fundraising wasn’t enough to push Cisneros over the top. In total, she raised $1.3 million with over $926,000 coming from outside of Texas. Cuellar raised close to $1.8 million. Most of his individual contributions came from within the state. 

Cisneros was the Justice Democrats’ first endorsed candidate in this election cycle. She also secured endorsements from current Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former presidential hopeful Julían Castro of Texas. 

Cisneros was boosted by nearly $1.3 million in outside spending from Texas Forward, a super PAC funded by pro-abortion rights group EMILY’s List. A hybrid PAC called the Voter Protection Project spent more than $178,000 in support of Cuellar and nearly $72,000 in ads against Cisneros last February. 

Cuellar has one of the most conservative records of any Democrat in Congress, voting with President Donald Trump almost 75 percent of the time during the 115th Congress, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Along with other House leaders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Cuellar. Meanwhile, the conservative super PAC Americans for Prosperity Action, which is tied to the Koch network, backed the Laredo incumbent. The group spent over $102,000 supporting Cuellar, marking the first time the group ever supported a Democrat. 

Among other candidates competing on Super Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez for a Texas Senate seat and Georgette Gómez in California’s 53rd House District. 

Gómez came in second in the race behind fellow Democrat Sara Jacobs. Due to California’s unique primary system, both will advance to the general election in November. Gomez was also second to Jacobs in fundraising, with $658,000 raised to Jacobs’ over $2 million. Jacob’s was also supported by a super PAC funded, in large part, by her wealthy grandparents.

In the Texas Senate race, Tzintzún Ramirez lost the Democratic nomination to MJ Hegar, who is endorsed by establishment party groups. Hegar raised $3.7 million to Tzintzún Ramirez’s $981,000 and was boosted by outside groups such as VoteVets. 

Ocasio-Cortez launched a leadership PAC called Courage to Change to help fund progressive candidates replace moderate Democrats up for reelection this cycle. The PAC hasn’t raised much yet, according to the most recent filings. In the 2020 election cycle, the group raised a little over $10,000, with half of that coming from Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign committee. 

Ocasio-Cortez endorsed other female progressive candidates who haven’t faced their primary elections yet. Two congressional hopefuls, Kara Eastman in Nebraska’s 2nd District and Marie Newman in Illinois’ 3rd District, are vying for office a second time after losing in 2018. Eastman was the Democratic nominee in 2018 but fell short to Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). Through the end of January, Eastman raised more than $466,000 but spent nearly all of it ahead of the May 12 primary. 

Newman raised close to $1.2 million for her March 17 rematch against Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-III.), one of few anti-abortion rights Democrats remaining in Congress. Lipinski raised $980,000. 

Teresa Leger in New Mexico’s open 3rd District raised $682,000 and is second in fundraising among Democrats fighting for the deep-blue seat. Samelys López in New York’s 15th District raised close to $36,000, which is far less than fellow competitors such as Ritchie Torres who raised $1.1 million ahead of the April 28 primary.

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