Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), commonly known as AOC, has ignited a new feud with the Green Party and its longstanding figurehead, Jill Stein.
In a video uploaded to Instagram over the weekend, now trending online, Ocasio-Cortez addressed a question from a user: “How do I tell my friends who are Jill Stein voters they are wasting their time and effort?”
“I’ve been outspoken about my criticisms of the two-party system, so this isn’t about that,” she emphasized, highlighting her own dual Democratic and Working Families Party (WFP) candidacy in New York and her endorsements of WFP and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates. “But if you’re running for president, you are effectively the leader of your party,” she asserted. “And if you run election after election for years, and your party hasn’t grown, you haven’t gained city council seats, down-ballot candidates, or state-level elected officials, that’s bad leadership. That’s what bothers me.”
“If all you do is appear every four years to address people who are justifiably angry, but you’re only showing up every four years, you’re not serious. To me, it seems inauthentic, like you’re taking advantage of them,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.
The Green Party, known for its pro-environment and anti-war stance, boasts approximately 244,000 members nationally, a decline from its peak of 319,000 in 2004. The party has yet to see a candidate win federal office, and its presidential nominees, who have run in every election since 1996, have never exceeded 2.7% of the popular vote. Ralph Nader’s 2.7% in 2000 was heavily criticized as a “spoiler” in the extremely close race that ultimately went to Republican George W. Bush.
Stein, the party’s nominee for the 2024 election, having also campaigned in 2012 and 2016, responded to Ocasio-Cortez—whom she labeled “AOC-Pelosi,” seemingly referencing her shift from a fiery outsider to a Democratic Party establishment voice—in a video shared on social media on Tuesday.
“Clearly AOC is the attack dog du jour and the Democrats are panicking. And they should be, because who wants to support a genocide? Who wants to vote for a genocide?” Stein argued. “If there’s anything predatory here, it’s saying your candidate is ‘working tirelessly for a ceasefire’ when they’re actually funding and arming the genocide and refusing to even consider an arms embargo that would put an immediate halt to the genocide.”
The ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has resulted in the deaths of Gazans, has become a contentious issue in the presidential election. It could cost Democratic nominee Vice President votes, particularly in crucial swing states with significant . President Joe Biden’s Administration, of which Harris is a key member, has faced criticism for its backing of Israel’s military campaign. Harris has pledged to maintain “” support for Israel’s right to “” while acknowledging that “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
Stein attributed the Green Party’s lack of power to “the anti-democratic tactics and strategies the Democratic Party uses to crush and silence political opposition,” citing Democratic efforts to restrict ballot access for independent candidates and claiming that Ocasio-Cortez “appropriated” the “signature issue of the Greens”: the .
In , it is exceptionally difficult for independent or third-party candidates to get on the ballot. Both the and have backed efforts to curb competition, fearing other candidates could siphon votes that might prove decisive in close races. (In 2016, Donald Trump edged out Hillary Clinton by fewer votes than Stein received.) Candidates like Stein and , before he , have contested such restrictions. According to as of Sep. 4, Stein has secured ballot access in 30 states, including the of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.