Ocasio-Cortez to deliver keynote address in Spanish-language Sanders town hall

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), one of the top surrogates for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) White House campaign, will host a town hall in Spanish in Nevada this weekend.

Ocasio-Cortez will host the event, named “Unidos Con Bernie Reunión Política con Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” in Las Vegas on Sunday in her first trip for Sanders to the early voting state.

The New York progressive will deliver a keynote address, which will be followed by a panel on Sanders’s “agenda to create a political revolution and transform our country so it works for all of us,” the campaign announced Wednesday.

“I’m nervous for this all-Spanish town hall,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet, “but I also know that the only way I’m going to improve my Spanish is by practicing it!”

I’m nervous for this all-Spanish town hall, but I also know that the only way I’m going to improve my Spanish is by practicing it!
–
Nevada: Únete a nosotros este Domingo para un… town hall(?) en Español, y probablemente con un poquito de “spanglish” también ⬇️ https://t.co/nj4WezQZXN

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 18, 2019

Nevada is home to the third nominating contest of the 2020 primary cycle and is considered a barometer for Democrats’ appeals to Hispanic voters with its largely Latino primary electorate.  

Ocasio-Cortez burst onto the scene after dispatching a member of the House Democratic leadership in her House primary last year. She has since amassed a gargantuan social media following and staunch support from progressive groups that have caused headaches among establishment Democrats by supporting primary challenges against members deemed not liberal enough. 

“I’m proud to say the only reason I had any hope in launching a long-shot campaign for Congress is because Bernie Sanders proved you can run a grassroots campaign and win in an America where we almost thought it was impossible,” Ocasio-Cortez said in October at a speech that Sanders said was attended by roughly 25,000 people.

The Vermont independent has deployed Ocasio-Cortez on several campaign trips since she announced her endorsement as he seeks to assert his hold on the progressive wing of the party against Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Sanders is hoping to put up a strong showing in Nevada, where his appeal to Hispanics and the state’s caucus format are expected to boost his support there. However, he trails former Vice President Joe Biden by about 9 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics average of the polls there.

—Updated at 1:48 p.m.