Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped late presidential bids and suggested efforts should redirected to winning state legislatures

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ripped late presidential bids and suggested efforts should redirected to winning state legislatures

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

YURI GRIPAS/Reuters

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

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  • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called out late entries into the 2020 presidential race in a tweet on Thursday.
  • The congresswoman from New York said that rather than "setting ablaze hundreds of millions of dollars" on these late-to-the-game presidential bids, efforts instead should be redirected to "winning majorities of state legislatures across the United States."
  • Last week former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg took steps to enter the 2020 race. On Thursday, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced he was joining the already-crowded group of 2020 candidates with less than 90 days to the Iowa caucuses.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called out late entries into the 2020 presidential race in a tweet on Thursday.

"Call me radical, but maybe instead of setting ablaze hundreds of millions of dollars on multiple plutocratic, long-shot, very-late presidential bids, we instead invest hundreds of millions into winning majorities of state legislatures across the United States?" Ocasio-Cortez wrote in the tweet. "Just a thought!"

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick officially announced his campaign in a video on Thursday, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has yet to formally declare his candidacy but has reportedly filed to have his name on the Democratic primary ballot in Alabama. Both had initially floated and subsequently declined to run earlier this year (Bloomberg) and in 2018 (Patrick), before both recently made an about face.

Patrick and Bloomberg entered the already-crowded 2020 race with less than 90 days to the Iowa caucuses.

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Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the 2020 presidential primary, isn't the only one criticizing the late presidential entrances. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sanders jabbed billionaire Bloomberg after reports of his filing to run. Both senators have proposed a wealth tax on American billionaires.

Republican National Committee spokesman Steve Guest ridiculed Patrick's late entrance, saying in a statement: "There's already one Massachusetts elitist liberal running in the Democrat field, yet Deval Patrick must think she, nor any of the other candidates aren't good enough."

"Reminder: Patrick doesn't stand a chance against President Trump either," Guest said.

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