Wall Street giants including the CEOs of Goldman and Blackstone are pouring money into the campaign to defeat AOC in a June primary
- Some of Wall Street's most prominent names have donated thousands of dollars to Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez's opponent in the upcoming Democratic primary in New York, data from the FEC shows.
- As first reported by the Financial Times, names including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, and Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman have given to Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.
- Caruso-Cabrera, a former CNBC journalist, takes Ocasio-Cortez on in a primary in New York's 14th congressional district on 23 June.
- While she has the backing of Wall Street behemoths, Caruso-Cabrera trails AOC significantly in the fundraising stakes, raising just over $2 million, compared to Ocasio-Cortez's $10.5 million.
Some of Wall Street's most prominent names have donated thousands of dollars to Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez's opponent in the upcoming Democratic primary in New York, data from the FEC shows.
Federal Election Commission datashows that donors including Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon, Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, and hedge fund behemoth Paul Tudor Jones have given to the campaign of Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.
The story was first reported by the Financial Times.
Caruso-Cabrera, a former CNBC reporter, is going up against Ocasio-Cortez to secure the Democratic nomination for New York's 14th congressional district on June 23.
The primary is significant as it would pave the way for the winner to be the favorite for the election taking place in November as the 14th district — which covers the eastern part of the Bronx and much of northern Queens — is a Democratic stronghold.
Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of Blackstone has donated $2,800 to Cabro-Cabrera's campaign. A further five Blackstone employees have donated the same amount to her campaign as well.
David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs also backed Caruso-Cabrera to the tune of $2,800, along with three other Goldman employees.
Paul Tudor Jones, the billionaire founder of the Tudor Investment Corporation also gave $2,800 to Caruso-Cabrera's campaign.
A number of other donors to Caruso Cabrera's campaign include staff at Wall Street firms including Evercore, Elliott Management, and Apollo Global Management.
Caruso-Cabrera has raised just over $2 million so far, while Ocasio-Cortez's campaign has received more than $10.5 million, FEC data shows.
The median size of Ocasio Cortez' donations is around $10, according to a Financial Times analysis of FEC filings and the online fundraising platform ActBlue. The FT reported while Caruso-Cabrera has received more generous contributions, Ocasio Cortez leads the way in smaller donations.
Republican economist Larry Lindsey, told the FT: "Michelle knows more about the world and how things work than probably a solid majority of Congress."
Caruso-Cabrera has been a controversial figure in the Democratic race as she was registered as a Republican until 2015.
She authored a book called "You Know I'm Right: More Prosperity, Less Government" in 2010 where she claimed Ronald Reagan, a Republican who served as president from 1981 to 1990, was her favourite president of all time.
Ocasio-Cortez told the FT: "It's not surprising that Republicans would finance the campaign of a life-long Republican in a Democratic primary."
She added: "While we have pushed against corporate power with policies that favour everyday working Americans, those donors prefer to bankroll a candidate who answers to Wall Street over the needs of our constituents."