The House approved a resolution backing Israel and condemning Hamas on Wednesday, the first piece of legislation to clear the lower chamber in more than three weeks because of the extended Speaker stalemate.
The legislation, which spans four pages, was the first measure approved under the leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who clinched the gavel hours before the chamber voted on the resolution. He succeeded former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in the position after the California Republican was ousted from the top job earlier this month.
The House approved the resolution in a 412-10-6 vote, a strong show of support for Israel after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on the U.S. ally Oct. 7, massacring more than 1,000 civilians in the south of the country, kidnapping more than 200 and raining thousands of rockets down across the country.
There’s precedent for it happening. It was awhile ago but in 2016, President Donald J. Trump (from NYC) won without holding a statewide office while his opponent, Secretary Hillary R. Clinton, lost despite having been a NY Senator based further upstate.
Smart assery aside, I don’t think someone like AOC needs a stepping stone the way other politicians do. She‘s a national figure already and has a donor network and all the rest. Basically every other politician needs to take the conventional path you’re talking about.
The reason Trump won was money, which is often the reason. During normal days, money can not be generated by someone who is not a proven winner (ie state or nationwide). He also won due to the electoral college (which is another conversation). The other exception was Eisenhower. But, these are exceptions and, for the most part, a candidate must prove they can win bigger electi9ns than district level.
As someone recently said “Senators dream of being President, Congressmen dream of being King.”