By David Wright, CNN

(CNN) — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is building a fundraising juggernaut that is rivaling some of the Democratic Party’s core infrastructure, prompting questions about both her future and the party’s.

Small-dollar donations – contributions of less than $200 – are the lifeblood of campaigns and a key measure of voter enthusiasm. And on ActBlue, Democrats’ largest online fundraising platform, the New York congresswoman received the third-most small-dollar donations in the first half of the year.

That trailed only the Democratic National Committee and the party’s Senate campaign arm, key party infrastructure. Ocasio-Cortez beat the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House campaign arm, and every other individual candidate.

Ocasio-Cortez raised nearly $15 million total in the first half of 2025 from 736,000 contributions, an average of $20 a donor. Notably, her fundraising spiked after the March announcement that she would join Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ national “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.

“There’s too many in the Democratic Party who like to criticize Bernie or be in friction with him. Far fewer have seen the political power of embracing him. AOC always has,” said Faiz Shakir, a senior Sanders adviser.

Waleed Shahid, a Democratic strategist who has worked on several progressive campaigns, argued that Ocasio-Cortez could reshape the party’s larger direction by sidelining big donors.

“History shows that independent political and fundraising operations often do more to change a party’s direction than the party’s own infrastructure,” Shahid said.

And David Axelrod, the veteran Democratic political strategist, said that Ocasio-Cortez was well-positioned to lead her party into the future.

“She has extraordinary communication skills. She is very authentic. She has a very clear point of view and knows how to communicate it in modern media. She’s done well and I’m sure her name will surface in speculation about future elections,” said Axelrod, a CNN contributor.

The DCCC declined to comment.

Facebook ads and the Sanders alliance

Ocasio-Cortez’s US House campaign has plowed more than $500,000 into Facebook and Google advertising over the last three months, much of it aimed at fundraising and collecting voter contact information, while she’s lent her fundraising prowess to a range of high-profile candidates and causes.

Her tour appearances with Sanders contributed to her strongest-ever fundraising quarter in the first three months of this year, during which she?hauled in?a total of $9.6 million. And according to her campaign’s most recent FEC report, Ocasio-Cortez had?nearly $10 million?in cash on hand as of June 30.

Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign manager and senior adviser, noted that her campaign has only four “double-max” donors, meaning they gave the federal limit of $6,600 for both a primary campaign and the general election.

“Our focus is taking on the Trump administration as he sells pieces of the government to the highest bidder and guts Medicaid and food stamps for kids,” Hidalgo-Wohlleben said in an email. “We will continue to be active in NY-14, NY state, and across the country to hold him and Republicans accountable.”

Ocasio-Cortez has directed her supporters to give to a range of other causes that she supports, including?school supplies for community residents, and aid for the population of Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war. Ocasio-Cortez has described Israel’s conduct of the war as a “genocide.”

And after stepping in to endorse Zohran Mamdani – the democratic socialist state assemblyman who scored an upset victory in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor earlier this summer – Ocasio-Cortez has also been helping to raise funds for his general election campaign.

“It’s time for Democratic leaders to unite behind Zohran Mamdani. If they don’t now, how can they call for party unity later? We must lead by example. Let’s win together,” she wrote in a recent fundraising missive.

Shakir, the Sanders adviser, argued top Democrats should take better note of Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani’s ability to invigorate the party’s grassroots and “the great political and policy possibilities of being working-class candidates with integrity.”

“If the brand and reputation of the Democratic Party is to be improved, we need more engagement with real voters, broader support from working class donors, and more strategic policy input from regular people,” he said.

What are her plans with the funds?

Ocasio-Cortez represents a safe Democratic district, one she won with a successful primary challenge of former Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018 by running to his left.

She won reelection last year by nearly 40 points and has established a strong national profile. Ocasio-Cortez was among the most favorably viewed national figures in a Gallup survey published this month.

The $10 million in her account could be fully transferred to any future federal campaign or to a bid for state office with some restrictions.?Some of her allies want her to challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, in 2028.

Ocasio-Cortez’s aides aren’t commenting about her future.

But Ocasio-Cortez turned 35 last October – the minimum age required to run for president – and her name is now also being mentioned in conversations about the 2028 White House race.

“Whether people feel like she’s ready to run the United States of America or govern the United States of America, I can’t answer that,” Axelrod said. “Voters will answer that question, if she runs. But I think she’ll have a devoted following if she does, and that will make her a factor in the race, if that’s what she decides to do.”

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