Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) spurred new and avid speculation about her political intentions on Tuesday, when an extensive interview with her was published in The New York Times.
Much of the chatter about AOC, as she is widely known, has centered on the idea that she might seek the presidency. But another route has always been available to her given that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is up for reelection in 2028.
The Times story suggested that the Democratic representative was still making up her mind about what lies beyond November’s midterm elections.
Schumer is a legendary political operator first elected to the Senate in 1998.
But his overall approach has engendered criticism from the left, who believe he is not confrontational enough with the Trump administration. Schumer’s age, 75, is also an issue for those who contend Democrats need a new generation at the helm.
Those concerns could open the door to a successful primary challenge from Ocasio-Cortez, almost four decades younger and an icon to many on the left of her party.
She seems in no hurry to close off the option.
The Times journalist to whom Ocasio-Cortez spoke, Shane Goldmacher, noted that her two choices appeared to be a Senate run against Schumer or a White House bid.
“Every element of this is something that’s within consideration,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The story also noted that Ocasio-Cortez’s Senate calculus could be complicated if Schumer piloted Democrats to a majority in the upper chamber in November.
Such an outcome was once considered at the outer edges of plausibility, given that many of the battleground states usually lean Republican. But a Democratic majority has become more realistic as President Trump’s approval ratings have dropped amid the war on Iran, persistent voter concerns about the cost of living and numerous controversies.
The New York representative noted wryly that a Democratic-majority Senate “would honestly be the best possible problem we could have as a country” and added, “We’re working hard to have that problem, and I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
The question of Ocasio-Cortez’s plans is one of the most intriguing within the Democratic Party.
When it comes to the idea of a White House bid, skeptics look askance at the idea of a young, left-wing Latina having a real shot at winning the key swing states upon which presidential elections tend to hinge — places like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona.
But AOC’s boosters have a raft of arguments to make in her favor.
She is by far the best-known and most charismatic figure on the left who could plausibly run for the White House in 2028 — especially given that her political mentor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is now 85.
The progressives have momentum in the party right now, as seen in the rise of figures like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Florida Senate nominee Angie Nixon.
Ocasio-Cortez, with her massive social media following and ardent fan base, would also have no problem raising money. On the largest prediction markets, she is either the favorite or second-favorite to become the Democratic nominee.
But will she run?
Some local chapters of the ascendant Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have passed resolutions backing an Ocasio-Cortez presidential bid, even as she has appeared to create some distance for herself from the hardest edges of the left.
In an August interview with ABC’s “This Week,” she approvingly cited a colleague’s declaration that “Woke 1 was crazy.”
The journalist Peter Sterne noted Tuesday that at least one DSA chapter, in southern New Hampshire, has pushed for a run by the more uncompromising Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) instead.
Some on the left have misgivings about Ocasio-Cortez running for higher office despite holding her in high esteem.
Progressive strategist and organizer Jonathan Tasini told this column he thought, if elected, Ocasio-Cortez would “make a terrific president” — in part “because she has the emotional intelligence that is lacking in virtually every other politician I’ve ever interacted with.”
But whether it was a matter of a White House run or a bid for Senate, Tasini questioned how truly successful AOC could be, given that her progressive worldview is shared only by a minority of Democrats in Congress.
“There is virtually no chance in 2028 that she would then have a majority in the House that would share her viewpoint or, in a fantasy world, a Democratic Senate that would be ready to pass ‘Medicare for All.’ So, she sets herself up to be opposed by significant portions of the Democratic leadership, which then sets her up for failure,” Tasini cautioned.
Still, it would clearly take at least one election cycle — and possibly many more — to bolster the progressive presence on Capitol Hill.
Some of Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, including in the new interview with the Times, suggest she thinks that anyone who waits for the perfect moment ends up waiting forever.
“There’s an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot,” she told Goldmacher. “Life doesn’t wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you.”
One of the traits that makes Ocasio-Cortez unusual, by any normal political standards, is a willingness to make public the kinds of thoughts other officeholders keep private.
That was true in an intimate sense this summer, when she offered regular social media updates on her decision to begin the process of freezing her eggs.
But it is also true when it comes to political calculation. To the Times, she mused on the barriers that have traditionally faced female candidates.
“This country has never elected a female president. Why are we pretending that this is not a factor?” she wondered.
Two intertwined questions — is the country ready for AOC, and what is AOC ready for? — will captivate Democrats for months to come.
The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.
