Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wished Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) well Wednesday amid news the Vermont senator would put campaign events on hold after a heart procedure for a blocked artery.
“Sending lots of love and solidarity to @BernieSanders today as he rests and recovers,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Wednesday. “A lot of people don’t understand how crazy hard grassroots campaigning is – for organizers and candidates alike. Rest up, friend. We’re with you!”
Although Ocasio-Cortez has yet to make a presidential endorsement, she and Sanders have been close allies since her surprise primary victory last summer.
{mosads}Ocasio-Cortez volunteered for Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign and after her 2018 primary win, he told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that Ocasio-Cortez won because “she ran on ideas that were relevant to the working people in her district.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone shortly after the freshman congresswoman was sworn in, she said he offered advice on committee assignments, telling her “You spend a lot of time in your committee, so it’s really important to pick a subject that you’re passionate about.”
Two of Ocasio-Cortez’s fellow Democratic congresswomen and members of the so-called squad of progressive freshmen also offered their best wishes for the Vermont senator.
“Thinking of you Amo @BernieSanders. We got your back!” tweeted Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), using an Arabic honorific meaning “uncle,” while Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted “Thinking of @BernieSanders as he recovers today. In solidarity always, my friend.✊.”
Sanders’s campaign said he had two stents inserted Tuesday after experiencing chest discomfort, with the campaign saying he was “conversing and in good spirits” since the procedure.