By Ginger Gibson
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. RepresentativeAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been in the middle of acontroversy that includes House Democratic leadership andPresident Donald Trump, raised $1.2 million for her re-electionin the second quarter, an impressive haul for a freshmanlawmaker.
The bulk of Ocasio-Cortez's fundraising came in donations ofless than $200 - an indication that she is successfully raisingmoney online from grassroots supporters.
At the end of June, the Democratic congresswoman had $1.4million in cash, according to disclosures her re-electioncampaign filed on Monday. The total was a sharp uptick forOcasio-Cortez, who raised $2.1 million for her entire firstelection campaign.
Her fundraising haul leaves her well positioned ahead ofwhen she is likely to run for re-election in 2020. U.S. Housemembers serve two-year terms.
By comparison, Hakeem Jeffries, the head of the HouseDemocratic caucus, raised about $845,000 for his re-election bidin the same period. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, aRepublican who is one of the chamber's most prolificfundraisers, raised $1.4 million in the first quarter of theyear.
Ocasio-Cortez raised more than some Democrats currentlyrunning for president, including former Colorado Governor JohnHickenlooper and U.S. Representative Tim Ryan.
She has been sparring with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi overthe chamber's response to detention centers on the borderhousing migrant children. Ocasio-Cortez has argued Pelosi hasnot done enough to push back against the Republican president'spolicies.
On Sunday, Trump injected himself in the middle of thedispute, drawing a barrage of criticism when wrote on Twitterthat Ocasio-Cortez and three other minority woman lawmakers,known in Congress as “the squad,” should go back to “the totallybroken and crime infested places from which they came.”
All four of the first-term House members are U.S. citizens,and all but one were born in the United States.
Ocasio-Cortez accused Trump of trying to sowdivision.
"Weak minds and leaders challenge loyalty to our country inorder to avoid challenging and debating the policy,"Ocasio-Cortez said.(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; editing by Jonathan Oatis)