While most Democrats are focused on the 2026 midterms and regaining control of the House and possibly the Senate, whispers have begun about the party's strategy to reclaim the White House in two years. And so far, no one has generated as much 2028 intrigue as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
This week, a survey from AtlasIntel showed the socialist-leaning, 36-year-old New Yorker leading a potential field that includes former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. However, when The Independent asked her about the strong polling, she played coy. “I don't know how much stock I put into polls like that,” Ocasio-Cortez said. That contrasts sharply with her reaction in December, when she reposted a poll showing her beating Vice President JD Vance, explaining, “Because JD Vance is a goober, man.”
If Ocasio-Cortez is not interested in a presidential run, her actions suggest otherwise. Last week, she spoke at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics. David Axelrod, who runs the institute and served as chief strategist for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, asked if she wanted to run for Senate or the White House. Ocasio-Cortez replied, “My ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country.”
The conventional wisdom has long been that she would challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a primary or become the frontrunner if Schumer does not seek re-election. That remains a likely path. But she has also become a sought-after surrogate. On Friday, she headed to Philadelphia to campaign for Chris Raab, who is running for an open seat in Pennsylvania’s 3rd district. The 3rd is a proxy battle between progressives and moderates. As one House Democrat told The Independent, it is the most solidly blue district in the nation, voting for Kamala Harris 90 percent to 9 percent in 2024.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 candidate and a moderate, has endorsed former state party chairman Sharif Street. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, another contender, is also campaigning for Street. This makes the primary a scrimmage. To win Pennsylvania, Democrats must maximize turnout in cities like Philadelphia. Last week, Ocasio-Cortez also traveled to campaign for Ruwa Roman, who is running for state Senate in Georgia. She stopped by Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s father once preached and Senator Raphael Warnock is the senior pastor. She also met with Dr. King’s daughter Bernice. Warnock told The Independent that he invites many colleagues to the church and she informed him she would be in the area.
When asked why she went to Georgia, she pointed to the Supreme Court’s near-dismantling of the Voting Rights Act. “I think that in the striking down of the Voting Rights Act, we are all being called to do everything that we can in this moment,” she said. “I think this is an all-hands-on-deck situation. All of us need to be everywhere, and I think it's important to lead by example.”
Atlanta, as the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, is a base for African-American voters, a crucial demographic for any presidential candidate. Similarly, Pennsylvania’s 3rd district is about 50 percent Black. These are the voters any progressive insurgent must convince they can win. Notably, Ocasio-Cortez’s political mentor, Senator Bernie Sanders, lacked deep ties to Black voters, which hindered his campaign.
Ocasio-Cortez is not just campaigning in blue areas. Next week, she and Sanders will head to Montana to campaign for Sam Forstag in the newly opened first district. “I think if we're going to be fighting for a Democratic majority, we need the strongest Democrats possible to take their seats and win in November,” she told The Independent.
She has also helped other Democrats in tough races. In September, her leadership PAC sent $5,000 to Senator Jon Ossoff’s re-election campaign. She also campaigned for fellow New York Representative Pat Ryan in 2024, who overperformed the Democratic ticket. “She was a huge help to me in a really tough race in 2024. She came to my district and made a very big positive impact in getting voters energized and fired up, so I'm glad to see she's doing that across the country,” Ryan told The Independent.
It is important to note that this is just one poll and an outlier. Harris continues to lead most surveys thanks to her name ID. Ocasio-Cortez would also need to contend with the deep pockets of someone like Newsom or the mainstream appeal of Buttigieg. She is still gaining experience and goodwill on the Hill after being seen as an insurgent. That gives her political capital to help pass legislation should another Democrat win the White House in 2028. But, as her former boss Ted Kennedy told Obama before 2008, “You don't choose the time. The time chooses you.” And the clock seems to be ticking for her now.
