It's AOC or bust for far-left Democrats in 2028
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For many far-left Democrats, it's AOC or bust in 2028.
- Left-wing Democrats are quietly escalating efforts to persuade New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president. One big reason: They see no clear alternative. Bernie Sanders (84) is too old — and no other Sanders-like pol with national punch is emerging.
Driving the news: Allies tell Axios the pitch to Ocasio-Cortez and her team is essentially this:
- She'd enter the race polling in the top five of potential Democratic contenders, and as the liberal heir to Sanders.
- Her high profile would allow her to raise $100 million online without a single in-person fundraiser.
- There's a window of opportunity for a left-wing nominee that may not come again for a generation. Democratic-socialist and liberal victories in New York City and elsewhere — with potentially more this fall — have changed the political playing field.
- Her candidacy would force Democrats to debate issues she and Sanders care about, such as Medicare for All and Gaza.
- If her candidacy faltered, she could drop out early and still make a run for Senate in 2028, for the seat now occupied by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"I think she'll plan to run for both and end up a senator," a plugged-in liberal strategist said.
The intrigue: AOC's team has been working over the past year to give her the option of running for president or Senate in 2028.
- At the end of 2025, she still had more than $13 million in a campaign account after spending several million on building up her already formidable grassroots fundraising machine with social media advertising and list-building, according to campaign finance records.
- Ocasio-Cortez privately has been asking for frequent updates on liberal candidates running in this year's midterms. Contests such as the Senate races in Maine and Michigan could validate the theory that voters are hungry for a left-wing outsider in 2028.
- Former Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir — an outside adviser to Ocasio-Cortez — also has been building up liberal media that could be useful in a presidential run, along with Sanders' political organization.
- Ari Rabin-Havt, a deputy campaign manager for Sanders in 2020, told Axios that AOC "has earned her place as the top dog" among liberals, "and if she does run, she obviously becomes the biggest star and sucks up the oxygen in that lane."
Ocasio-Cortez also is trying to further raise her profile on the national and international stage.
- She drew massive crowds across the country with Sanders in early 2025 as part of his "Fight Oligarchy" tour, and tried to boost her foreign policy credentials with a much-hyped trip to the Munich Security Conference.
- Her appearance there last month was marred by some halting, inexact answers that made some Democrats privately say she isn't ready for prime time.
Reality check: Ocasio-Cortez is doing far less campaign infrastructure-building and making fewer national media appearances than other possible presidential candidates.
- She's privately expressed ambivalence about running for president, and some close supporters think she should wait because she's young (36) and has time.
- Sanders has praised Ocasio-Cortez, but he's avoided endorsing anyone as a successor.
- People close to her believe she would like another candidate to be the left-wing's standard-bearer in 2028.
- A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez declined to comment.
Between the lines: With AOC's future uncertain, other potential presidential candidates are trying to position themselves in the same lane.
- Rep. Ro Khanna, a co-chair of Sanders' 2020 campaign who also has joined the senator's "Fight Oligarchy" tour, has longtime Sanders operatives such as Jeff Weaver and Mark Longabaugh advising him.
- Khanna has also been a ubiquitous presence on old and new media, and has been a leader in the effort to release the Epstein files.
- "You have to give Ro credit: He's worked his ass off to put himself in this position and has done what's most comparable to Bernie pre-Bernie 2016," Rabin-Havt said.
Other liberals have touted Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who has been a pointed critic of Israel and President Trump's immigration policy, as a 2028 contender.
- Some on the left are still looking and musing about outsiders such as autoworker union president Shawn Fain or some of the liberals running for Senate this year.
- Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, who previously led the liberal caucus in the House and has been talking up Van Hollen, told Axios: "I don't think there's a natural candidate on the liberal side right now, and I think he could not only fill that gap but also bridge it with other parts of the Democratic Party."
