By Giulia CarbonaroShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberFox News host Laura Ingraham has warned Republicans that U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York—also known by her initials, AOC—is “building the most powerful political operation we’ve seen since Obama,” referring to the former Democratic President Barack Obama.
In a post on X, Ingraham wrote that the 36-year-old congresswoman for New York’s 14th congressional district “is positioning herself to run for president in 2028.”
To support her statement, the journalist, author and host shared a video of Ocasio-Cortez talking about her campaign raising enough money to donate 1,600 turkeys for families in the Bronx this Thanksgiving.
Why It Matters
There is still a lot of speculation over who will run in the first presidential election without President Donald Trump—that is, unless he decides to flaunt the rules and make a bid for a third term, an idea which he has teased in the past. The Democratic Party is still working out a new path after the painful defeat last November, with the race wide-open.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been rumored to potentially run for the Democratic primary, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris, who recently said she was “not done” with politics. Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive star of the Democratic Party, could potentially run, as she is now over the minimum age of 35 required to be U.S. president.
What To Know
Ingraham is not the first to mention that Ocasio-Cortez might be looking into running for president in 2028. In September, Axios reported that “people familiar with her operation” said she was positioning herself to run for either the presidency or the U.S. Senate in 2028.
According to the news site, Ocasio-Cortez has spent millions this year on social media to grow her supporters’ base and find potential donors to expand her grassroots fundraising pot. Across all social media platforms, the young Democrat now counts over 36.7 million followers.
A recent analysis by ABC News also identified Ocasio-Cortez among the Democrats who have been traveling to key battleground states this year, suggesting they might be preparing the ground for a presidential bid. The list included Harris, Newsom and California Representative Ro Khanna.
...Ocasio-Cortez visited Arizona in March as part of the Fighting Oligarchy tour with independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. In the same month, she also visited Nevada.
A recent poll assuming hypothetical races between Newsom and Vice President JD Vance and Ocasio-Cortez put the California governor ahead with 36 percent of the vote against the vice president and the New York congresswoman tied at 34 percent each.
Vance is currently the favorite in polling for the Republican Party candidate, but others are likely to run—including, potentially, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Newsweek contacted Ocasio-Cortez’s office via email on Sunday, outside of standard working hours, for comment.
What People Are Saying
Fox News host Laura Ingraham wrote on X on Sunday: “AOC is positioning herself to run for president in 2028. Republicans, as you fight amongst yourselves, she’s building the most powerful political operation we’ve seen since Obama.”
Asked if she would make a formidable candidate in 2028, Senator Bernie Sanders told Axios in a recent interview: “I think she would. I think other people would as well. That’s her decision to make.”
Ari Rabin-Havt, a longtime Sanders aide, told Axios: “She has a supporter base that, in many ways, has a larger potential width than Bernie’s. She has been in the glare of the spotlight from day one and has the national campaigning experience a lot of other potential candidates are now trying to get.
“It would be the height of arrogance to assume she couldn't win the 2028 nomination.”
Political commentator Chris Cillizza wrote in his newsletter that “AOC would be INSANE not to run for president in 2028.”
What Happens Next
Ocasio-Cortez is still in the midst of deciding what her political future will be.
Her decision is likely to influence the future of her entire party, which currently appears conflicted between taking the middle ground or chasing the success obtained by progressive candidates such as Zohran Mamdani, who recently won New York City’s mayoral election.
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