Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez now as unpopular as Ted Cruz during 2013 government shutdown over Obamacare defunding
by Philip Klein
| March 15, 2019 09:56 AM
| Updated Mar 15, 2019, 10:58 AM
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's social media stardom has catapulted her to a place of national name recognition and influence that is unheard of for a freshman member of Congress. Yet as Americans get to know her, she's only growing more unpopular. And she's now actually as unpopular as Sen. Ted Cruz was as a young freshman when he was leading the 2013 effort to defund Obamacare that resulted in a government shutdown.
A newly-released Gallup poll found that just 29 percent of Americans say they have never heard of Ocasio-Cortez. That's unheard of for somebody who was only recently elected to the House. By way of comparison, that means her name recognition is higher than Chief Justice John Roberts (who 30 percent never heard of) as well as prominent senators who are running for president, such as Sens. Cory Booker (33 percent never heard of), Kirsten Gillibrand (41 percent never heard of), and Amy Klobuchar (45 percent never heard of).
A problem for Ocasio-Cortez is that as people get to see more of her, their views become more negative. Last September, after her upset victory in the primary, 24 percent of those polled had a favorable view of her, compared to 26 percent who had an unfavorable view. Her notoriety has increased significantly since then, but while 31 percent now view her favorably, her unfavorable rating has shot up to 41 percent. That means on net, views of her are negative by 10 points — a 15 point swing.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-now-as-unpopular-as-ted-cruz-during-2013-government-shutdown-over-obamacare-defunding
