Oct 23, 2025 - Politics & Policy
Exclusive: Sanders weighs in on AOC's future, 2028
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) believes that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) would make a formidable presidential candidate in 2028, he tells Axios' Alex Thompson on "The Axios Show."
Why it matters: Ocasio-Cortez is positioning herself for a political leap in 2028, whether for president or challenging Chuck Schumer in a Democratic Senate primary.
- "That's her decision to make," Sanders said, after heaping praise on Ocasio-Cortez's political skills and connection with voters.
- Ocasio-Cortez is "a very, very good politician," Sanders said, "in the best sense of the word."
- "I've been out on the streets with her, people come up and how she responds to people is so incredibly genuine and open," Sanders said. "That's a gift that she has."
Zoom in: Ocasio-Cortez has joined Sanders for multiple stops on his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour this year, drawing crowds of thousands in red states like Montana.
- "She comes from the working class ... she knows what it's like not to have any money," Sanders said of Ocasio-Cortez.
- The left is trying to find its next top-tier presidential contenders after Sanders ran for president in both 2016 and 2020.
- Sanders said there are "other people" who he thinks would be great as a presidential candidate on the left: "We've got a lot of other great people."
Between the lines: Sanders shouted out "literally dozens" of progressives in Congress who give him a "lot of optimism about our political future."
- That includes Reps. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.).
