In 2018, a first-time congressional candidate named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez signed up for a membership with the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA endorsed her. She won. She became the face of democratic socialism in the United States. And then, in 2019, her membership expired because she stopped paying her dues.
She never renewed. It's been seven years.
AOC — the woman who has spent her entire congressional career arguing that the federal government should manage more of the economy, control more of your money, and redistribute more of your wealth — couldn't manage a $15-a-month auto-renewal. The DSA offers automatic recurring payments. She didn't set one up.
Her spokesperson "declined to comment." Which is the press-office equivalent of staring at the ceiling and whistling.
AOC ran as a democratic socialist in 2020 without being a democratic socialist. She endorsed DSA candidates, campaigned alongside them, and used the label as a brand — all while not actually belonging to the organization.
By 2024, the relationship was already fraying. AOC's local chapter, NYC-DSA, stopped endorsing her. She voted for the TikTok ban, which didn't sit well with the base. In an ABC News interview, she tried to split the difference, claiming she was "only a member of the New York City chapter, but not the national organization." Which is an interesting thing to say about an organization whose national membership roll shows you haven't paid since 2019.
The DSA, for its part, hasn't said much either. They endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor. They've moved on. AOC is still the most famous democratic socialist in America, she's just technically one of their newer members.