Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s re-election campaign dropped nearly $50,000 on luxury hotel stays across the country since April, Federal Election Commission records show.
The New York Democrat’s campaign, 35, racked up $47,000 across 45 hotel charges spanning Memphis, Atlanta, Chicago, and Manhattan, with individual bills climbing as high as $5,044. That top charge landed at The Memphian, a boutique property in Tennessee where rooms typically run $200 to $600 nightly and guests have access to spa services and an animal-themed rooftop bar.
The campaign also laid out $2,694 and $1,599 at The Candler Hotel in Atlanta, a historic landmark high-rise with an acclaimed restaurant, plus $2,274 at The Talbott in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. Back in her home city, the campaign spent $530.46 at the Thompson Central Park hotel, where rooms can reach $1,852 per night, and $318 at the Hyatt Seville NoMad on 29th Street. Industry rankings classify all 45 properties as luxury, upscale, or upper upscale.
The hotel spree comes as Ocasio-Cortez leverages her national profile to boost Democratic candidates ahead of November’s midterm elections while amassing a formidable $37 million war chest for her own congressional race. Her campaign has burned through or transferred roughly $24 million this year and still holds nearly $18 million cash on hand, filings indicate. More than $24 million of her total haul came from small donors giving under $200.
The travel bills covered her entire team and may have bundled multiple nights and multiple stays, the records suggest. Beyond hotels, the campaign spent $1,791 with Queens-based Golden Class Limo, $659 with Northern Virginia’s Singh Car Service, $1,257 with Memphis outfit Sleek Shuttle Service, and $1,406 with chauffeur company Blacklane.
North Country businessman Anthony Constantino, the Republican vying for outgoing Rep. Elise Stefanik’s seat in the 21st House District, seized on the spending. “All Democrats want to do is take donor money and buy nice things for themselves. AOC is a con artist,” he charged. Constantino has pumped $7 million of his own fortune into his race.
GOP state comptroller candidate Joseph Hernandez, who fled Cuba with his parents and later built a career leading healthcare firms, fired back with sharper ideological framing. “She’s a champagne communist,” he said of Ocasio-Cortez.
“I grew up in an actual communist country, where the people in charge lived like kings while everyone else waited in line for bread,” Hernandez continued. “Donor or taxpayer money, they spend it like it’s their own.”
The lodging expenses arrive as Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of The Bronx and Queens, fuels speculation about a potential 2028 presidential bid through her aggressive national campaigning. Her “tax the rich” messaging has made her a lightning rod for conservative criticism throughout her congressional tenure.
The campaign’s luxury travel habits drew fresh scrutiny alongside memories of her 2021 Met Gala appearance, where she wore a gown emblazoned with “Tax The Rich.” The House Ethics Committee later faulted her for violating gift regulations by accepting over $3,700 in rented apparel and accessories for the event.
A representative for Ocasio-Cortez did not return a request for comment Friday regarding the hotel expenditures.
The campaign’s next major financial disclosure is due to the Federal Election Commission by mid-October.