AOC's Trip Out of NYC Seen as a Hint at Her Aspirations for 2028
The 2028 election is right around the corner. Is New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez going to run for president? For Senate? For the House of Representatives?
These questions — and many more — shroud the 2028 Democratic primaries in much mystery. Much to the detriment of the public, and the delight of speculative journalists, Ocasio-Cortez has not yet made her own plans clear.
In 2025, an AOC presidential candidacy seemed likely to many. Her participation in Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour suggested that she may have been considering national office.
Recently, however, she appears to be much more interested in the issues of her home state, New York.
Last Thursday, she began a statewide tour of key cities. In Buffalo, she helped launch an effort dubbed “Project Reactivation,” which targets 100,000 inactive registered Democrats across New York.
“Oftentimes inactive voters are blamed as though it’s their fault for not participating,” AOC said, according to Buffalo-Toronto Public Media. “We need to give people a reason to participate. We need to give people a reason and something to vote for.”
From Buffalo, she traveled to Ithaca Sunday for a “Students vs. Billionaires” event for Cornell University and Ithaca College students. While there is a very strong progressive base in the area, AOC encouraged her audience to get involved in local and congressional elections to ensure a blue victory.
After Ithaca, she visited Syracuse and brought another version of “Project Reactivation” to central New York.
While visiting these various cities, AOC made sure to meet with local politicians. In Buffalo particularly, she held a 30-minute closed-door meeting with Mayor Sean Ryan, and then a televised impromptu news conference.
Focus on cities outside of her congressional district doesn’t necessarily prove Senate aspirations, yet AOC’s recent interview with the New York Times revealed a few matters of extreme importance:
“Every element of this is something that’s within consideration,” AOC said when asked about running for president or senator.
Times reporter Shane Goldmacher wrote that “Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who won her seat by toppling a powerful Democratic House leader in a 2018 primary, did not rule out the possibility of challenging [Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck] Schumer — even if he helps Democrats win a Senate majority in the midterms.”
In the interview, AOC made it very clear that her choice would not change if her primary challenger is a potential Senate majority leader or a former vice president.
“I don’t think that my decisions would come down to deference,” she said.
While she has not officially denied the idea, here are a few compelling reasons to believe that AOC will not pursue lodging at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
First, only one House member has ascended directly to the presidency. That was James A. Garfield in 1880. Even if AOC was very popular, it would be quite uncommon — unprecedented in modern history — for someone of her limited experience to be granted the highest office in the nation.
The second reason comes from the use of the phrase, “if AOC was popular.” While she is popular in specific progressive circles, the country overall would have to shift radically to the left for her to ever be elected.
A recent New York Times/Siena University poll revealed that her favorability rating among Republicans was less than 1 percent. This renders crossing party lines for coalition construction practically impossible.
Furthermore, only 30 percent of all likely voters nationally viewed her favorably, with 41 percent holding unfavorable opinions. It’s difficult to win a race with those kinds of numbers.
This would explain why AOC hasn’t made any public visits to the early presidential primary states. She likely knows that “President Ocasio-Cortez” is a long shot. “Senator,” however, is very plausible.
AOC is armed with a statewide tour and a massive grassroots fundraising base, and Chuck Schumer’s Senate seat appears to be set squarely in her sights.
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