My then girlfriend convinced me to join her in donating hundreds to candidates like Bernie, AOC, and other smaller, local people. We even bought cringe merch. I never wore it, even while they were still in our good graces.
I was always very skeptical of them but thought and hoped maybe I would be proven wrong, and if it went well then it would very much be worth it. It was my first time but I'll never donate to these social fascist campaigns again.