🏛️ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she hasn't decided whether to run for president, but the New York congresswoman is making new moves toward a possible White House bid.

• She launched a national tour in recent weeks — without calling it one.

❌ Why it matters: Whether AOC jumps into the race is one of the biggest X factors in the 2028 Democratic primary.

• 💰 Democratic operatives expect she would easily raise $100 million just from small-dollar donors, mobilize many supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' past campaigns, and command attention as few other candidates could.

Driving the news: Just in May, Ocasio-Cortez has:

• 🗳️ Rallied voters in Philadelphia for a left-wing congressional candidate in a competitive primary.
• Spoken at a rally in Montgomery, Ala., about voting rights.
• 🎙️ Addressed the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta with Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock. (Democrats note that Warnock, the church's senior pastor, doesn't always allow visiting politicians to speak at his church. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg didn't speak when he visited in March.)
• Met with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter at the King Center in Atlanta to talk about data centers and voting rights.
• 🩺 Visited Morehouse School of Medicine, also in Atlanta, to discuss Black maternal health.
• Rolled out several endorsements in races across the country.

This week, Ocasio-Cortez will travel to Missoula, Mont., to campaign for congressional candidate Sam Forstag, a smokejumper and union leader who spoke at a rally with AOC and Sanders last year.

AOC also has raised eyebrows by attending meetings with Democratic Party powerbrokers.

• In April, she attended the Power Rising Summit in Chicago — an event that bills itself as "a space for Black women to turn power into action and create an actionable agenda to be implemented in their communities, and nationally."
• The summit was founded by influential Democratic operative Leah Daughtry.

Between the lines: It's not just where Ocasio-Cortez is going, it's what she's saying that signals her ambitions go well beyond her New York City district.

• During her speech in Philadelphia, she approvingly quoted an activist who recently said that "MAGA is the last dying breath of the confederacy."
• At Ebenezer Baptist Church, AOC brought the congregation to its feet when she said: "I'm here today, brothers and sisters, with a simple message: We stand together and we are not going back."
• "What happens in Georgia happens to New York, what happens to Tennessee happens to California, what happens to Louisiana happens to all of us, Ebenezer, because this is America. We are not divided by state, we are united by our humanity and common citizenship."

The other side: Ocasio-Cortez recently said that speculation about her running for president assumes that her "ambition is positional," but "my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country."

• A person close to AOC told Axios she's still genuinely undecided on whether to run for president. She's also considering a Senate bid in 2028.
• "The way she will evaluate the decision is really around where she believes she can make the most change," the source said.
• 📈 Ocasio-Cortez also is skeptical of early 2028 primary polls that are positive for her, including one this month showing her first among possible Democratic contenders, the source added.

Read more.

— Alex Thompson, Holly Otterbein

🌹 Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of most influential leaders in the progressive movement, is being publicly and privately courted by Democrats eyeing presidential bids in 2028 — a sign they're trying to build up their lefty credentials.

Why it matters: Progressives are on the rise in the party, and Warren is a key ally to have. She lost her bid for the White House in 2020 but played a major role in shaping Joe Biden's presidency by installing her allies in his administration.

• Her moves haven't been without controversy. Some centrist Democrats worry that Warren has helped pushed the party too far to the left.

🫖 Zoom in: Warren is working to put her stamp on the 2028 Democratic primary. She met privately with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for tea this month and has a texting relationship with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Axios has learned.

• Both potential contenders for president are more moderate than Warren, a frequent target of President Trump and conservatives because of her push for consumer protections and corporate regulation.
• ✂️ Warren also has been talking with former Biden and Obama officials about how a future Democratic president could reshape the federal government in light of Trump's DOGE cuts, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Newsom took a major step to woo Warren World when he tapped one of the senator's protégés, Rohit Chopra, to lead a new consumer agency in California this month.

• A few months earlier, Warren had been spotted at a restaurant with Newsom in San Francisco.
• Warren's relationship with Newsom's circle goes back years: His wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, endorsed Warren for president in 2020.

Warren likewise has teamed up with Ocasio-Cortez, a fellow progressive and potential 2028 contender, on policy.

• 👶 In February, AOC became the House co-lead on a bill by Warren aimed at implementing universal child care.

What they're saying: In an interview with Axios, Warren praised Beshear's efforts to expand pre-K access in his state. She said that during their meeting, they discussed the prospect of universal pre-K at the federal level.

• "He talked about the difference it would make for families in Kentucky," she said. "I leaned back and thought: 'This is someone who gets it. He's not checking the box.'"
• Warren also had warm words for AOC — saying that she "does the hard work and digs deep on policy" — and praised Newsom's work to expand free pre-K in California.

👎 The other side: Liam Kerr, co-founder of the center-left WelcomePAC, expressed dismay that potential presidential candidates are meeting with Warren.

• "Elizabeth Warren literally hired 1,000 people for her presidential campaign, got 7% in South Carolina, and then seemingly hired 1,000 people into the Biden administration," he said.
• "Not sure which of those three [things] candidates want advice on, but hopefully not the last one," Kerr added.

Read more.

— Holly Otterbein

🍎 Many Democrats don't like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker told Axios he "absolutely" supports some of Kennedy's policies — particularly when it comes to food.

• 🍼 Booker likes Kennedy's increased testing of infant formula for microplastics and other materials, pushing for less ultra-processed food, and his pilot program to have schools serve more-healthful meals, an aide to the senator told Axios.

Why it matters: Booker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, wants to appeal to some of the health-conscious, "Make America Healthy Again" voters Kennedy rallied during his 2024 presidential bid — first as a Democrat, then as an independent who eventually endorsed Donald Trump.

• "There are moves that they've made that I think are really important, and I wish they were more robust," Booker told Axios about food-related actions by Kennedy's HHS.

Read more.

— Alex Thompson

A look at what potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders are up to:

• 🐻 Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blasted Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for his handling of the talks over a new stadium for the Chicago Bears, who've indicated they're likely to build the stadium at one of two sites: suburban Arlington Heights or — gasp — Hammond, Ind. "The mayor has no plan. He has come up with no plan at all about how the Bears would end up in the city of Chicago," Pritzker said. Johnson jabbed back, saying: "The difference or the disconnect is, look, we do come from different experiences. I'm not a billionaire. I'm not the heir of billions of dollars."
• Newsom did a whirlwind tour through D.C. that included a speech at a conference held by the Center for American Progress, meetings with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and more.
• 🤖 Newsom also rolled out an AI-focused executive order on job displacement in California that underwhelmed some labor leaders, Politico reported.
• 💧 Ocasio-Cortez is staying out of the contested Democratic primary for Michigan's Senate seat, at least for now. She also continued to rail against data centers and called for investigations into their impact on drinking water.
• 🇮🇱 Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will discuss the future of U.S.-Israel relations at Tel Aviv University on July 8.
• 🫸 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told the New York Times: "My hope is that Pennsylvania, in this election cycle, is once again pivotal and helps deliver a Democratic majority in the U.S. House and provides a check on Donald Trump."
• 🐘 After Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) lost his primary Tuesday, California Rep. Ro Khanna said on X: "I say to this voters who feel rejected by Trump. We welcome you. Join our coalition to take on a rotten system and stand for the working class over the Epstein class."
• 👎 Democrats piled on Colorado Gov. Jared Polis for commuting the sentence of election denier Tina Peters.
• Buttigieg "packs barn for rural Democrat in competitive N.C. congressional district," the Asheville Citizen Times reported.
• Beshear campaigned in Alabama for the Democratic nominee for governor, former Sen. Doug Jones.
• 🇨🇺 Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego said Republicans are trying to "manufacture a reason for another regime change war in front of our very eyes — this time in Cuba."

Meanwhile: States that want to go first in the 2028 Democratic primary will be making presentations this week at the Democratic National Committee's meeting in D.C.