AOC 2028? Everyone Weighs In.
An intra-left discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of a potential AOC run for President
Who is more exciting than AOC? Although she has not announced for President in 2028, speculation abounds. The following perspectives are in no particular order:
says:
She's not perfect—no politician is—but I feel like a lot of the hate she gets is either from centrist neoliberals who hate everything leftists stand for or crank anarchists and communists whose political activity mostly consists of being on Twitter twelve hours a day arguing with people about how Russia is justified in invading Ukraine and that juche ideology is based. And again, she's not perfect at all, she's done things that I definitely did not like (if I recall correctly, she said something like “there should be more Zionist voices in leftist spaces”) but as leftists, she's pretty much one of the best we have and we absolutely cannot afford to squander this or completely throw her under the bus. I see her as a stepping stone for normalizing progressivism, democratic socialism, and leftist ideas in general.
says:
She’s actually a very talented and skilled politician and I think her playing nice with the Democratic establishment is necessary for the power she is trying to build.
says:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is nothing short of a phenomenal power that will define the Democratic political trajectory over the next half a century. But not all talent is meant to ascend to the White House. In fact, I believe it would be premature if Democrats pick AOC to be their presidential nominee in 2028. It might even go down like Michael Dukakis against George H.W. Bush. She simply needs a thicker resume and an appeal outside cobalt blue bastions. She’s a liberal darling in a country that’s not that liberal or socialist. Endless rightwing demagoguery about her association with climate politics or social justice movements or DSA would be a heavy weight to get across the finish line in Pennsylvania and Georgia.
Instead, I think the best trajectory for the progressive movement, the Sanders revolution and the Democratic Party would be for Rep. Ocasio Cortez to become the senator from the marquee blue state of New York in the seat currently occupied by Democratic minority leader Charles Schumer. She will be equipped to fill the shoes of her two Senate mentors Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Her eloquence and influence would be longer lasting and more meaningful in the Senate, where progressive need a leader who can set the conscience and deliver marching orders on the votes of healthcare, war, national calamities and triumphs. Her greatest hurdles will be the New York Democratic establishment and entrenched interests like AIPAC who have proven themselves to be immensely influential in the Empire State and view her as an archenemy.
Wherever AOC ascends next on the ladder of power, Queens should send Zohran Mamdani to congress to fill in the shoes of this phenomenal fighter for the working people in New York State and the whole United States. Unless he somehow manages to pull off a significant underdog victory in the race for New York Mayor, in which case we’re doing better as a progressive movement than anyone could have dreamed.
says:
AOC is a unique figure in American politics. In a field dominated by nepo babies, lawyers, and finance-industry vets, she's a true dyed-in-the-wool working class hero. I worked years of grueling manual labor before obtaining a tech-industry degree, and will always have a soft spot for working-class orators among us. AOC fits the bill in spades.
She's a true renaissance woman: equal parts influencer, orator, and stalwart champion of modern socialism. She's also the most visible member of the squad and knows how to build coalitions with the often smarmy, cynical "campaign funds over everything else" types in the Democratic Party. All of these qualities make her uniquely positioned to campaign for the highest office in the land.
She will come out of her current congressional term completely unmarred by capitulation to the Trump administration, having voiced full-throated and unceasing disdain for an increasingly unpopular regime. She will be the natural successor to the extremely popular Bernie Sanders legacy. Perhaps most importantly, she'll be offering the clearest alternative to a near-universally-hated status quo. She's got the smoke. In 2028, we should let her make electoral fire.
says:
My view on AOC’s future is more practical than inspirational. The presidency is an interesting goal, but it's honestly hard to use that as a bully pulpit; we've seen mixed results on that from the right, with Trump-style MAGA candidates often attempting to mimic him to disastrous (albeit comical) results at the ballot box. In addition, many a lefty has pointed out that even if Bernie had won, he would've run into the obstacle of some Democrats in Congress opposing his presidency; I find it hard to believe AOC wouldn't run into similar challenges. She should continue in the House, where she can build up political and policy power to influence the party's direction, hold a key committee chair position, and eventually be the speaker.
The left should start looking at how it can marshal its various inside and outside allies, like labor and left-aligned think tanks, to create a critical mass of like-minded elected officials. Only through the patience and hard work of identifying allies, investing in them, and shepherding them through the ranks can this be done. AOC is uniquely skilled at this work because of her charisma, work ethic, and fundraising ability. We have already seen some liberal and moderate house members gravitate to her on policy, political issues and the campaign trail.
AOC has the potential to lead a diverse coalition of between 50 and 75 allied but independent House Democrats (let's call it the Squad Caucus) who can impact policy and direction in a manner similar to left-leaning groups in parliamentary systems abroad. She is uniquely qualified to lead on this: AOC represents a cross-cultural and socioeconomically diverse district including working-class renters to upwardly mobile transplants and more pragmatic homeowners. Her broad sense of the electorate, even though she represents a deep blue seat, strengthens her appeal to other house members as she can present a robust sense of the direction of the country.
says:
I think AOC would be a solid presidential candidate because she is a democratic socialist and a progressive who appeals to moderates and establishment liberals alike. If she can carry off that Bernie aura and appeal to the Everyman then it’s SETTLED GODDAMMIT! This is my opinion and anyone who shares it is doing copyright infringement.
says:
There are much better options for AOC in 2028. Primarying Schumer is at the tippy-top of that list. I could also see her as a Paul Ryan-type firebrand running mate for a relatively moderate presidential candidate—hopefully for a ticket that wins, though!
In a field as crowded as 2028 is looking, though? She’d be destroyed, if not ratfucked by the DNC apparatchik. If the party was willing to nominate a dying cancer patient for the House Oversight Committee over AOC, perhaps the party’s just not ready for her yet. Of course, we’re also 3 years out. Anything could happen. I just don’t think the cold heart of the party defrosting to someone like her in that time is something we can count on.
says:
AOC is an incredibly talented politician with charisma and principles that are matched by few in elected office nowadays. That said, my main hesitation is her lack of a unique political identity at present. She has a compelling, everywoman outsider story, and is clearly confident and telegenic, however despite the quickly fading popularity of the Democratic old guard, she struggles to sufficiently differentiate herself from the party. I just want to see AOC find her own message rather than alternating between parroting Bernie and Biden.
This lack of political message makes her extremely susceptible to a sort of “senate brain” that, for example, can end with an electorally toxic complicity in Zionism and genocide. She notoriously lied to the public at the 2024 DNC, assuring us that the Biden and Harris were “working tirelessly for a ceasefire”. Even before October 7th, she cried while voting to authorize military aid to the Zionist state in 2021. I believe that these low points came about due exactly to her lack of a cohesive political message, which leaves her without an heuristic to follow in crucial moments.
AOC’s political identity is almost always defined in relation to those around her, her life before politics, or her immutable characteristics: Former bartender, woman of color, member of the ‘Squad’, Bernie’s most likely successor. And it doesn’t help that she muddied the waters by frequently defending the Biden administration.
It seems that she can’t decide whether to follow Bernie’s path to cozy up to the Democratic Party. This troubles me, given that the centrist neoliberal wing of the Democratic Party is evidently moribund. It troubles me that she allows herself to be instrumentalized, by the oligarchs she decries, to support Zionism. If I was a part of her team, I would “work tirelessly” to ensure that AOC sticks to the left-populist message at all costs, especially on the occupation of Gaza. Any concession serves exactly the people she claims to work against, a morally and electorally self-defeating outcome.
says:
AOC truly is the most electrifying politician I have ever seen. Only once before, that first time I saw Obama, did I ever feel anything close to what I felt when I first encountered AOC. And since then, she has only grown in her prowess, in her sophistication—yet she hasn’t sold out on her principles or crystal clear political vision. Her authenticity is an extraordinary asset unmatched among her peers, and her star turn as joyful warrior on Bernie’s Fighting Oligarchy tour makes her the putative favorite at this very early stage.
Ultimately, the Democratic party is the lesser of two evils. Are they evil? Of course they are. But we are seeing now with Trump 2.0 just how cataclysmic the difference is between the GOP version of evil and the Democratic version. So when 2028 rolls around, I will vote for the Democratic candidate no matter who it is—which means the question fundamentally boils down to electability. And she’s just got so much more juice than anyone else on offer, so it has to be her.
Incidentally, I believe in AOC’s approach to solving problems and improving the average American’s lot in life far more than that of any other elected Democrat. This is a rare instance where the person I like the most just so happens to be the candidate (a genuine populist progressive) that I think is the most electable. She is currently the most undervalued political figure, with doubters and haters on both the left and the right. But as I wrote in February, “Underdogs who exceed expectations don't just win – they transform their critics into their strongest advocates.”
When voters take AOC for who she truly is—rather than the caricature of her they’ve been fed—they’ll become true believers. If she runs for Senate in New York, the seat will be hers, with a clear path to the White House in 2032 or 2036. I’m just not sure the United States can wait that long. AOC 2028: Let’s Fucking Go.
ICYMI, check out these related essays:
AOC Won't Save Us
Scarlet says: “The Dems ran such an incompetent campaign in 2024 that they managed to lose every single swing state and even the popular vote for the first time in 20 years and yet not a single person in leadership was forced out. The same consultants, the same party heads, the same “thought leaders”, that delivered us to this horrific point in time, have all maintained their positions within the party. There is no accountability, no reckoning at all. There are no new ideas. There is no new approach. The cavalry is quite simply not coming.”
Walz 2028? Everyone Weighs In.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has generated considerable attention recently, sparking discussion about a potential Presidential candidacy in 2028. The following perspectives appear in no particular order.
Stand Back and Stand By
Our culture is so irrevocably election-pilled (present company included) that Bernie’s and AOC’s electrifying appearances have been largely cast through the prism of partisan politics and the prospects for progressive gains in 2026 and 2028. But the real story here is the sheer human spectacle, the show of great power we all too easily forget we possess.
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She certainly is qualified and stepping up for democracy. I bet she’s dealing with “now”. But I’m willing to support her.
Bernie Sanders