Why AOC was in a deep-red part of Michigan: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In today’s edition, Jonathan Allen digs into Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Plus, Allan Smith rounds up the battleground Republican candidates who are distancing themselves from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. — Adam Wollner Why AOC was in a deep-red part of Michigan Analysis by Jonathan Allen Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign swing with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed today was about much more than boosting him on Election Day in November. It was about all the Election Days after that, too.

As a leader in the socialist-inspired wing of the Democratic Party, and one who is weighing a bid for the presidency, Ocasio-Cortez is eager to find evidence for the case that progressives are as good as centrists at persuading swing voters to pick Democrats — maybe even better. It’s a counterintuitive argument and one that is central to the left’s strategy for winning primary fights — including the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. In higher-turnout elections, party voters often reject more liberal candidates at least in part because they believe those candidates would lose to Republicans in general elections. The left hopes an El-Sayed victory