Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is preparing to run for either the Senate or president in 2028, according to new reporting Friday.
Axiosreported that “people familiar with her operation” say the progressive New York congresswoman is working to boost her profile both across the state and nationally, and that “her team is working to give her choices” ahead of the next presidential election and the end of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) current term.
Ocasio-Cortez, who stunned the political establishment by winning the Democratic primary in New York’s 14th District in 2018 and beating former longtime Rep. Joe Crowley, has also hired some former advisers to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as she has joined the senator on parts of his nationwide Fighting Oligarchy Tour.
In March, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders drew a crowd of 34,000 people in Denver—after speaking to 11,000 in the town of Greeley, Colorado, which is represented by a Republican in Congress—for their rally focused on shifting political power away from the wealthiest Americans, fighting for programs like Medicare for All, and holding the GOP accountable for their efforts to rip Medicaid and food assistance away from people while handing out tax breaks to the rich.
The congresswoman is often called by her initials. On the tour, Axios reported, “Crowds chanted, ‘AOC! AOC!‘”
The warm reception received by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders in both red and blue districts this year has hardly been surprising, considering recent public opinion polls.
“Her team has spent more on digital advertising than almost any other politician in 2025, and as a result, they have brought in hundreds of thousands of new small-dollar donations.”
A survey conducted last month by Jacobin, Data for Progress, and the DSA Fund found that 58% of Democrats preferred democratic socialism over capitalism, and preferred candidates like Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders over establishment leaders such as Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)—who have angered many voters with their failure to forcefully condemn President Donald Trump’s attacks on free speech and immigrant rights and act decisively as opposition leaders.
Seventy percent of all respondents said the US economic system is “rigged in favor of corporations and the wealthy,” including 67% of independents and 58% of Republicans.
Another poll taken in June by Reuters/Ipsos found that 62% of Democratic voters felt the party leadership should be replaced by new people, and a survey last December found that 62% of Americans believe the US government has an obligation to ensure everyone in the country has healthcare coverage.
In response to the news that Ocasio-Cortez is considering a run for Senate or president, progressive journalist Mehdi Hasan of Zeteo had a succinct response: “Good.”
Kyle Tharp, author of the media and politics newsletter Chaotic Era, told Axios that Ocasio-Cortez has been ramping up her small-dollar fundraising efforts through online engagement.
“Her team has spent more on digital advertising than almost any other politician in 2025, and as a result, they have brought in hundreds of thousands of new small-dollar donations,” said Tharp. “She’s also seen record-breaking organic growth on social media, adding several million new followers across Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky, X, and Facebook.”
Centrist Democrats have long suggested that democratic socialist candidates like Ocasio-Cortez and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani—who is endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders, but not Jeffries and Schumer—can only win in progressive cities and states, despite the fact that Sanders won the 2020 presidential primary contests in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado and has since drawn crowds in states including Idaho, West Virginia, and Iowa.
“She has a supporter base that, in many ways, has a larger potential width than Bernie’s,” Ari Rubin-Havt, a longtime aide to Sanders, told Axios. “She has been in the glare of the spotlight from day one and has the national campaigning experience a lot of other potential candidates are now trying to get.”
“It would be the height of arrogance to assume she couldn’t win the 2028 nomination,” added Rubin-Havt.
Other Democrats who have been floated as potential 2028 presidential candidates include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
In April, Ocasio-Cortez led Schumer in a hypothetical 2028 Senate matchup by 19 points, in a poll by Data for Progress.