"I do not think you can go too far left and still win the Midwest": Duckworth on the Ocasio-Cortez strategy

A few days after Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Commented on the upset victory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from other figures established in the party expressed concern that what worked locally may not translate as well nationally .

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Added to the conversation Sunday suggesting that what worked in the Bronx for Ocasio-Cortez may not work nationwide.

"I do not think you can go too far left and still win the Midwest," Duckworth said of CNN's "State of the Union." "I come from a Midwestern state, I think you must be able to talk to the industrial Midwest, you must be able to listen to people there in order to win a national election."

Ocasio-Cortez responded on Twitter not much later, touting the Midwest states that Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Won in the 2016 Democrat Presidential Primary.

However, Sanders' margin of victory varied widely among these states.

He won the Kansas primary of nearly 35%, but only a little over 1% in Michigan. And in Nebraska, although Sanders won the Democratic caucus, which determined how state delegates would be rewarded, he lost the primary to Hillary Clinton.

Ocasio-Cortez also spoke of the generalizability of his strategy on NBC's "Meet the Press," saying, "I think there are a lot of districts in this country that are like New York 14 that have changed a lot in the last 20 years and whose representation has not. "
While the New York Board of Elections has not yet released its demographics, researchers at City University in New York found that Ocasio-Cortez's participation was highest in neighborhoods. Queens, a trend observed in other congressional primaries.

Duckworth also offered a more positive view of the young candidate and her strategy.

"She did the hard work," Duckworth told CNN. "She pounded the sidewalk and she was there talking to each of her constituents, and I think that was the difference."