Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continually touts her fundraising as a grassroots effort that relies on small donations from regular people. However, a review by The Washington Post has found that her campaign coffers are stuffed with big contributions from celebrities, wealthy activists, and executives.
Even many of AOC’s small-dollar contributions are larger than they appear, due to an accounting loophole that allows big donors to masquerade as small ones. Among the bold-faced names buried inside her lengthy Federal Election Commission reports are several high-profile individuals.
Actress and activist Jane Fonda, known for hosting Ocasio-Cortez on her podcast in 2020 and for her controversial Vietnam War-era visit that earned her the nickname “Hanoi Jane,” has donated $8,300 to the socialist lawmaker and “Squad” member over the years, including $500 so far in the first half of 2025.
Other celebrities contributing to AOC’s $20 million war chest include:
– Comedienne Wanda Sykes, who gave $2,000 this year
– “Running on Empty” singer Jackson Browne, with $4,850 in 2025 and nearly $12,000 since 2020
– “Working Girl” star Melanie Griffith, who donated $250
– “Dream On” actress Wendie Malick, with $258
– “Gone Girl” actor Ben Affleck, who has given $3,452
– “The Avengers” actor Mark Ruffalo, who donated $5,063
– Filmmaker Michael Moore, who gave $1,000
While Affleck, Ruffalo, and Moore have yet to donate in the current election cycle, their past contributions remain part of AOC’s funding history.
Beyond Hollywood, notable donors include Franklin Delano Roosevelt III, grandson of the former U.S. president. A self-described “radical” economist, his Ph.D. dissertation was titled “Towards a Marxist Critique of the Cambridge School.” He has donated $3,312 so far this year and $10,437 since 2020.
Several Beltway insiders also contributed to AOC’s campaign. Al Kamen, longtime writer of The Washington Post’s “In the Loop” column, gave $7,100 but later received a partial refund after exceeding federal contribution limits. Kamen was AOC’s top donor as of the end of June.
Other contributors from powerful firms in Washington, D.C., and beyond include:
– Samuel Maruca, a corporate tax attorney at Covington & Burling
– Sarah Tucker, a partner at Chicago-based Sidley & Austin representing banks, energy, and commodity companies
– Debra Greenspan, partner at communications and crisis management firm FGS Global
Among executives donating to AOC’s campaign are Evan Goldberg, founder of Oracle NetSuite, who gave $6,600 this year; Claire Chouinard, daughter of Patagonia’s founder and a company designer, who donated $6,300 over the years; and Porter Diehl, deputy CEO of Bridgewater Associates, who gave $3,500 so far this year.
Critics argue that these contributions contradict AOC’s self-branded image as a grassroots politician. Kiersten Pels, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, commented:
> “Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign is fueled by the very Hollywood celebrities, globalists, and D.C. insiders that she rails against. She brands herself as a grassroots politician, but she is bought and paid for by elites. Her $15 ‘average donation’ is a lie meant to hide her hypocrisy and corruption, but the American people can see right through it.”
Large contributors giving more than $200 accounted for 10% of her fundraising haul in the first half of 2025 and nearly 30% in the 2024 election cycle. These contributions helped the self-described “Bronx girl” raise $20 million, more than any other House member as of her October filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Ocasio-Cortez represents parts of the Bronx and Queens and often boasts that her average donation “floats around $15 to $17.” However, many donors break up their large contributions into multiple smaller increments, lowering the average donation amount on paper.
For example, one Manhattan doctor, Tina Dobsevage, gave as many as 130 donations over the past year, with contributions as small as $1.25, totaling $2,100. She is one of many donors from high-wealth professions who chose to give in small sums to drive down the average contribution amount.
Other examples include:
– Google engineer Ghuman Sundeep from California, who made donations in increments of $10, $15, $50, and as little as $3 over the spring and summer
– Google engineer Niccole Patten, who broke her $300 contribution into $25 increments through the ActBlue political fundraising service
– Soham Koradia of California, who gave a series of irregular contributions ranging from $5 to $40 in various months
– Kevin Ward, CEO of the Aspen Center in Colorado, who broke up his donations into amounts ranging from $5 to $16 over two months
Efforts to reach Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment on these findings were not successful, as they did not reply to The Post’s request.
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This detailed examination of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s fundraising highlights the complex interplay of big and small donors behind her campaign, challenging the narrative of a purely grassroots funding model.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/15/us-news/aoc-trumpets-small-donors-but-celebs-like-jane-fonda-ben-affleck-wanda-sykes-and-melanie-griffith-give-big/
