By: Nick Carraway

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set off a political firestorm during a heated stop in Rep. Elise Stefanik’s upstate New York district, where she told supporters that the congresswoman is “not welcome here anymore,” the New York Post reported.

Speaking nearly 300 miles from her own Bronx-Queens district, AOC appeared at a packed town hall at the historic Strand Theater in Plattsburgh – an event promoted as a response to President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the New York Post reported.

During her speech, Ocasio-Cortez mocked Stefanik for embarking on what she called a “farewell tour” when she believed she was about to be named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “Elise did her farewell tour, and I think it’s time to finish the job,” AOC shouted to the crowd. “Let’s show her the door. She’s not welcome here anymore,” the New York Post reported.

Stefanik had been floated as Trump’s pick for the U.N. role, but the nomination was ultimately pulled due to fears her seat could fall to a Democrat in a special election. She has since launched a campaign for governor, with strong support from Trump and GOP leadership, the New York Post reported.

Republicans were quick to hit back. “AOC and [Democrat Rep.] Paul Tonko may love trying to tax and spend their own constituents to death, but that doesn’t mean they should come to the North Country and peddle the same, tired failing Democrat agenda,” state Sen. Dan Stec (R-Warren) told the New York Post. Republicans are accusing Ocasio-Cortez of “fearmongering,” the New York Post reported.

Tonko, who co-hosted the event, praised AOC’s national profile, saying, “They say, ‘Well, she’s the future of the party.’ I say, ‘She’s the today of the party,’” the New York Post reported.

AOC, dressed in a white button-down shirt and black cuffed pants, told attendees she was a longtime lover of the Adirondacks and claimed to be an avid backpacker. But GOP operatives weren’t buying the act. “As usual, AOC is beyond parody,” a spokesperson for the New York Republican Committee said, accusing her of “cosplaying as a girl from The Bronx,” despite growing up in Westchester County, the New York Post reported.

“The North Country is Elise Country, and it’s Trump Country – and it’ll stay that way,” the spokesperson added, the New York Post reported.

On social media, Erie County GOP Chair Michael Kracker mocked AOC’s appearance, writing, “The Republican Party will never recover from this”,

When asked for comment on AOC’s claim that Stefanik isn’t welcome in her own district, a spokesperson for the congresswoman responded: “Thank you for the political gift of a radical Far Left Socialist’s visit to the North Country. It’s like pouring jet fuel on Elise Stefanik’s strong support in Upstate New York,” the New York Post reported.

Despite her frequent national appearances and social media dominance, AOC has funneled millions into digital ads with minimal targeting in her own district – raising eyebrows among campaign watchdogs, the New York Post reported.

The visit highlights the ever-widening gap between urban progressives like AOC and pro-Trump conservatives in rural New York – and suggests the North Country may be gearing up for a full-blown red vs. blue showdown in 2026.