US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aka AOC, technically became one of history’s most successful Twitch streamers on Wednesday afternoon, captivating hundreds of thousands of viewers across an all-star Among Us session.
She also talked politics, but more on that later.
The stream came about after AOC, one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars and most prominent left-leaning figures, issued a call-out for high-profile Twitch personalities to join her online – on the proviso that the stream would be used to encourage voting in next month’s presidential election.
Anyone want to play Among Us with me on Twitch to get out the vote? (I’ve never played but it looks like a lot of fun)
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 19, 2020
AOC’s call-out drew a massive response, and streaming stars like Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys, political podcaster Hasan Piker, and British YouTuber Harris ‘HBomberguy’ Brewis jumped in for today’s Among Us bout. Fellow Democrat, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, also joined the hours-long stream.
For those wondering, here’s how Ocasio-Cortez reacted when the game asked her to sabotage and shank basically everyone else involved:
.@AOC says she doesn’t want to be an imposter and then… pic.twitter.com/UkK6soDHsU
— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) October 21, 2020
AOC just did the most amateur kill ever and im howling laughing at the fact she got away with it pic.twitter.com/NV01ZJf5Bt
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) October 21, 2020
According to one count, AOC’s stream drew nearly 440,000 concurrent viewers. That would pin it as the third highest of all time, behind pro gamer Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek’s return to Twitch, and Drake‘s monstrous Fortnite session with Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins.
It wasn’t just sneaky venting and politicians being sus, though. In addition to repeated call-outs for viewers to vote at the November 3 poll, Ocasio-Cortez discussed key issues, like healthcare, with her rag-tag bunch of crewmates.
“What’s it like to go to the doctor without going bankrupt?” AOC asked Brewis, referring to the UK’s government-run healthcare system – and America’s reluctance to introduce a system like our own.
Brewis also murked AOC at one point, but that’s neither here nor there.
— Steve Kim (@Fobwashed) October 21, 2020
Between calling people sus and complimenting co-streamer Corpse Husband on his extremely deep voice, Ocasio-Cortez also urged viewers to cobble together a voting plan.
Given the fact the COVID-19 pandemic is still ripping through the United States and US President Donald Trump‘s repeated attacks on the legitimacy of mail-in voting, Ocasio-Cortez used her somewhat surprising soapbox to reach stacks of potential voters.
“Thank you so much for playing,” she said at the end of the stream, “and let’s all participate in this election and save democracy.”
If you’re eligible to vote this year, vote BLUE!! @AOC also isn’t impostor 😎 pic.twitter.com/qwNA68PwI2
— val 🧌 (@valmisakova) October 21, 2020
All up, it seemed like a very earnest attempt to reach people where they are (that is, locked inside and glued to their screens). I’m keen to see how the other side reacts to all of this, and whether Eric Trump will be asked to stream CS:GO in response.
You can catch a replay of Ocasio-Cortez’ stream here.
