Ocasio-Cortez leads poll of Democrats on which leader 'best reflects' party's 'core values'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) narrowly leads in a poll of Democrats on which political leader "best reflects" the “core values” of the party.

In a CNN survey released Sunday, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are asked to name one person, when “thinking about Democratic leaders today,” who “best reflects the core values of the Democratic Party.”

The open-ended question yielded a range of responses: 10 percent point to Ocasio-Cortez, 9 percent say former Vice President Kamala Harris, 8 percent say Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and 6 percent say House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Former President Obama and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) each are named by 4 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independent respondents, while Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) are named by 2 percent of respondents.

At least fifteen other Democrats — many of whom have name recognition from previous presidential campaigns or rumors of possible ones — are named by 1 percent of respondents.

Meanwhile, a plurality of respondents, 26 percent, said they have no opinion, while 5 percent give non-name responses and 5 percent say no one. All other names account for a total of 5 percent of responses.

The survey reflects the lack of clarity among Democrats over who should lead the party, as Republicans take control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Ocasio-Cortez has been a leading voice criticizing Schumer for agreeing to a Republican spending bill that almost all Democrats opposed, due to provisions that cut programs and expanded Trump's power to control government funding.

“There is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters late Thursday, referring to Schumer’s decision. “And this is not just about progressive Democrats. This is across the board — the entire party.”  

Schumer says a government shutdown would have been worse, effectively accelerating Trump's efforts to close down government agencies he doesn't like, but has faced intense backlash within the party for not putting up a fight.

The last time Democrats were grappling with a Trump presidency, in 2017, the list of party leaders looked very different — with only Sanders near the top of both lists.

Obama led responses at 18 percent, followed by Sanders with 14 percent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with 10 percent, then-former Vice President Joe Biden with 7 percent.

The latest survey, conducted on March 6-9, included 1,206 respondents and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.