AOC leaves door open for 2028 presidential bid as campaign buzz soars
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked by Fox News Digital about the viral video that had pundits guessing if she was soft-launching her campaign.
'I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people's healthcare is in danger. That's really what my central focus is,' the New York Democrat said when asked if she was considering a run for president, despite President Donald Trump's assurances that he wouldn't cut Medicaid.
'This moment isn't about campaigns, or elections, or about politics. It's about making sure people are protected, and we've got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights. We're getting 2-year-olds that are getting deported into cells in Honduras. We're getting people that are about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is most important,' Ocasio-Cortez said on Capitol Hill on Trump's 100th day in office.
Ocasio-Cortez has crisscrossed the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, on the 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour, and Americans have been speculating about whether the New York Democrat is launching a shadow campaign for president.
Ocasio-Cortez's campaign account posted a video on X last week that invigorated those rumors as the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive leader proclaimed, 'We are one.'
4 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out 2028 presidential aspirations when asked about the viral video that had pundits guessing if she was soft-launching her campaign.
'I'm a girl from the Bronx,' Ocasio-Cortez said on a campaign-style stage in Idaho. 'To be welcomed here in this state, all of us together, seeing our common cause, this is what this country is all about.'
FiveThirtyEight founder and prominent pollster Nate Silver signaled earlier this month that Ocasio-Cortez is the leading Democrat to pick up the party's presidential nomination in 2028. In a draft 2028 pick with FiveThirtyEight's Galen Druke, Silver chose Ocasio-Cortez as his top choice to lead the Democratic Party's presidential ticket.
'I think there's a lot of points in her favor at this very moment,' Druke said, adding, 'Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has broad appeal across the Democratic Party.'
Americans have been reposting Ocasio-Cortez's video across X, pointing to the video as proof of her 2028 presidential ambitions. 'Get ready, America. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will almost undoubtedly run for president in 2028,' political reporter Eric Daugherty said in response to the video.
4 'I think what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now, and people's healthcare is in danger. That's really what my central focus is,' Ocasio-Cortez said when asked if she was considering a run for president.
Paul Kitagaki Jr./ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
As rumors swirl over Ocasio-Cortez's ambition for higher office, back at home in New York, a Siena College poll found Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's favorability is down, at 39% among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14-16. Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez's favorability soared to 47%.
The longtime senator from New York faced pushback from the Democratic Party in March for supporting the Republican budget bill backed by Trump that averted a government shutdown and stirred up outrage among congressional Democrats who planned to boycott the bill.
That growing disapproval among Democrats was reflected in the poll, and the shifting perception comes as DNC vice chair David Hogg, through his political arm, Leaders We Deserve, faced blowback from the DNC this week for investing $20 million into electing younger Democrats to safe House Democrat seats.
Ocasio-Cortez raked in a massive $9.6 million over the past three months. The record-breaking fundraising haul was one of the biggest ever for any House lawmaker. Ocasio-Cortez's team highlighted that the fundraising came from 266,000 individual donors, with an average contribution of just $21.
'I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at a record scale to organize their communities,' Ocasio-Cortez emphasized in a social media post.
Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of Sanders' 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, said that Ocasio-Cortez appears to be one of a small group of politicians in his party who 'are test ballooning a potential 2028 run for the presidency' as Democrats search 'for a path out of the wilderness.'
'We're not really sure who or what it will be, but one of the pathways there is to drill down on economic populism. There are many people that occupy that lane, and she is one of them. And there's clearly energy behind what her and Bernie Sanders did criss-crossing the country.'
Colin Reed, a Republican strategist, said Ocasio-Cortez 'shouldn't be discounted' by Democrats 'who are standing in her way' of running for whichever office she decides to seek, whether as a U.S. senator or president of the United States.
4 Ocasio-Cortez has crisscrossed the United States with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, on the 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour in April.
AP
While Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders garnered plenty of national attention as they jetsetted across the country, Reed said their passion and energy might invigorate the progressive portion of the Democratic Party, but 'her ideas are way too outside the mainstream to ever be electable at a nationwide level.'
'Ultimately, in a Democratic base, there's always going to be a percentage of voters who are drawn to that message. The issue they run to is it's just not the majority of Americans. The majority of Americans don't want to transform our country into some sort of 'European-style government rules all' vision. That's why America was founded in the first place — to get away from oppression, from an overbearing, overreaching government,' Reed said.
As Democrats struggle to land on a consistent message and search for a clear party leader following Republicans' November wins, there is an opportunity within the party to dominate the national Democratic narrative, Reed explained.
4 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speak to a full auditorium as part of the 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour on April 14, 2025, in Nampa, Idaho.
Getty Images
'Chaos loves a vacuum, and right now, there is a vacuum in leadership in the Democratic Party, and thus chaos is ruling the roost,' Reed said.
'As long as those two are out there, they're going to get attention because nobody else is doing anything. The house of cards will come crumbling down, especially when you've got two folks out there, Sen. Sanders and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, holding themselves out as climate warriors as they jet around the country on private jets spewing untold carbon emissions into the air. That hypocrisy is one that's tough for a lot of folks' stomachs,' Reed added.
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