Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing backlash for turning her Thanksgiving turkey giveaway into a fundraising operation for her reelection campaign.
The self-described “Bronx girl” sent an email last week asking supporters to “chip in $5 or anything you can today to help us bring the joy of the holiday season into homes around NYC this year.”
But instead of sending donations to charities, contributors were directed straight to AOC’s ActBlue campaign page.
Campaign disclosures clearly label contributions as going to “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress,” with donors reminded that the funds are not tax-deductible. Critics argue this blurs ethical lines.
Former City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli slammed the move.
“A campaign is not supposed to be a pass-through for charitable work,” he said. “What if she raised enough money for a million turkeys? Would she buy a million turkeys, or pocket the cash for her campaign and stage a photo-op?”
City Councilman Robert Holden echoed the concern, as the New York Post reported.
“Socialists like AOC love to promise everything for free, but it always ends with them shaking down working people under the guise of community goodwill,” he told The Post.
Unlike most NYC politicians who coordinate turkey drives through local charities, AOC and Rep. Gregory Meeks are reportedly the only ones using campaign funds for giveaways. AOC, critics note, also directly solicits money from constituents—something Meeks does not.
Federal Election Commission rules do not require politicians who solicit funds for community organizations to disclose the funds raised or how they are spent. That leaves donors in the dark about how many of their dollars actually go to turkeys versus campaign coffers.
AOC’s campaign manager, Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, defended the fundraiser.
“For our Thanksgiving turkey fundraiser, we set a goal that we raise towards and if we surpass it then we order more,” he said.
AOC herself touted the effort on Instagram, claiming hundreds of families in the Bronx would be fed. “All of your support and fundraising has raised an additional $20,000 above our raise goal which we are giving 100% to local food pantries to help feed families this Thanksgiving,” she said.
But critics say past turkey numbers reported by AOC have been inconsistent. Her email claimed 600 turkeys were distributed last year, yet campaign videos from 2024 said the number was closer to 1,000. In 2021, she reported 650 birds.
National Legal and Policy Center researcher Paul Kamenar called the fundraiser “a shady deal.”
“It appears that AOC’s turkey giveaway project may be a fraudulent scheme to solicit donations for her campaign,” he said. “Clearly, a full investigation and audit need to be conducted.”
RNC spokesperson Kiersten Pels slammed AOC outright.
“Ocasio-Cortez is running a con under the guise of a charity drive,” Pels said. “Slapping a ‘turkey’ label on a campaign fundraiser to trick voters into thinking they’re helping charities is exactly the kind of scam that she and the socialist wing of the Democratic Party rely on.”
