New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shared messages from current and former Republicans on Instagram who said they had come around to her point of view.
“[Former] hardcore [Republican] here. Thank you for the work you do. I changed thanks to you,” one of the messages says.
“That’s amazing!” Ms Ocasio-Cortez responded in her Instagram Story. “Thank you so much. I’m so excited to hear about journeys like yours.”
“Are you a former [Republican]?” the Congresswoman asked her followers.
“[To be honest] it was an entire world view shift. From [zero]-sum to class struggle. Hasan Piker too,” one message read.
Hasan Piker is a Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator.
“I needed an abortion and realized my (former) party is off-base with reality,” another message said.
“The murder of George Floyd opened my eyes to the inequalities and systemic racism,” one follower wrote to the congresswoman.
“For me, it was the idea of universal healthcare for Americans,” one message said, with another person adding that they had been a “hardcore” Republican for 40 years, as well as a “Christian nationalist”.
“Saw Knock Down the House. That did it,” the person wrote. Knock Down the House is a 2019 documentary following the 2018 House campaigns of several Democratic women, including Ms Ocasio-Cortez.
Another Instagram message said, “majored in Biblical Studies – saw how scripture was manipulated for power instead of service”.
One Instagram user said they “grew up in a very conservative family” but that “living in a diverse place shifted it for me”.
Another account holder said “corporate greed and Wall Street owning homes” shifted their perspective.
One person said, “progressive friends that actually practised what they preached ... made me start asking questions”.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez also asked what made former Democrats leave the party.
She said that “the most common answer” by “far” was that people were leaving the party “because of ineffectiveness in passing bigger policies”.
She added that people were “not moving right” but that they were “demobilized”.
“I tried to tell some people in the party this would happen if we didn’t pass the [Build Back Better Act] but they didn’t listen,” she wrote.
“I totally understand. I’ve been there!” she added. “I still think voting is important, especially when the risk of fascism is so high, but the party holding back doesn’t win them the fans they think it does [in my opinion].”
