Ocasio-Cortez Has Evolved. She Wants the Left to Evolve, Too.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has done a lot of growing up in the eight years since a stunning upset catapulted her from anonymous 20-something insurgent to establishment-busting avatar of American progressivism. She is pursuing alliances across the political spectrum rather than flaming other Democrats, betting that bridge-building is a better way to expand her movement.

She would like to see the left grow up, too.

In private discussions, she has urged fellow democratic socialists to foster a “culture of welcoming” rather than of “intimidation,” mindful that even she has sometimes failed their purity-minded litmus tests on issues like the war in Gaza.

She has called for “really big carrots” to attract new allies, talking up donations to colleagues in competitive House districts who take risky progressive stances.

And as she zigzags the country campaigning for some of the most liberal new voices in politics, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has taken pains to present herself as a kind of friendly neighborhood lefty: She will preach warmly to the unconverted, she suggests, whether they like it or not.

“I’ve had people say, ‘Well, we don’t want you at our luncheon’ or ‘We don’t want you around here,’” she told voters in Portland, Maine, while sharing a stage with Troy Jackson, the Democratic Senate candidate. “And I’ll say, ‘That’s fine. I’m not going to stop trying to be your friend.’”

In public and private remarks, meetings with lawmakers and appearances with midterm candidates inside and outside the socialist ranks, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 37, has begun sketching her preferred vision for the left’s next phase. She hopes to nudge the rambunctious coalition in a bigger-tent direction that mirrors her own path in Congress and stands to benefit both its collective agenda and her own potential ambitions.