Children’s YouTube star Rachel Accurso, known to millions of young fans and their parents as Ms. Rachel, publicly endorsed a dozen progressive Democratic candidates on Friday, saying she supports politicians who care about the safety, health, and future of children. In an Instagram post, Accurso said she believes all children and people should have access to medical care, that children should be safe from violence, and that «no one needs a billion dollars ever.»
Accurso’s endorsements span House and Senate primaries in eight states. Her slate includes former Missouri Rep. Cori Bush, Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed, Vermont Rep. Becca Balint, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, and former Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson. «These are the folks I believe care about all kids,» Accurso wrote.
Bush is trying to reclaim her former St. Louis-area seat from Rep. Wesley Bell in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Bush said earlier this month that she was proud to be re-endorsed by the group. «Together, we’ll work to abolish ICE, deliver Medicare for all, end wars overseas, and achieve true economic justice,» Bush said in a social media post.
El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health official, is running in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, also scheduled for Tuesday, against Rep. Haley Stevens. He has rejected the socialist label even as he draws support from prominent progressives. During an interview with Jen Psaki, El-Sayed said, «I’m simply not a socialist» and argued that he has studied many of the solutions he fights for, including Medicare for all and reforming a financial system that, in his view, prioritizes quarterly corporate profits over long-term business sustainability. El-Sayed spoke at six Democratic Socialists of America events between 2017 and 2020.
El-Sayed’s campaign platform calls for Medicare for all, taxing billionaire wealth, banning corporate money in politics, and an arms embargo against Israel. His campaign website lists endorsements from every member of the informal left-wing congressional caucus known as the Squad, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, and Greg Casar of Texas. Many current and former Squad members have past or ongoing ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, a group El-Sayed has tried to distance himself from as he seeks to moderate ahead of a potential general-election campaign in a battleground state.
Accurso’s political involvement has also drawn sharp criticism from Republicans. Samantha Cantrell, a regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that El-Sayed and Ms. Rachel are «one and the same, forcing their socialist, they/them, anti-America agenda on our children.» The committee previously criticized Accurso’s financial support for El-Sayed after federal filings showed a $3,000 payment from Accurso to his campaign before Michigan’s primary. The filing did not specify whether the payment was a contribution or a loan.
Accurso linked her endorsements to what she described as an influx of outside money in Democratic primaries. «I think politicians shouldn’t attack each other and I don’t think big groups should be able to use millions to attack candidates,» she said.
Accurso has increasingly used her platform, which includes a YouTube channel with more than 20 million subscribers, for political advocacy. In June, she visited Delaney Hall, an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, and traveled to Washington to urge Congress to end family detention and separation. She said recently that she became involved in politics because she cares «so much about kids and families everywhere» and could not watch them suffer without standing with them.
