You Know What? Maybe the Time Is Right for an AOC Presidential Bid

Third, Ocasio-Cortez is not Sanders. Perhaps she has less appeal among older white voters and men than the Vermont senator. But it’s easy to imagine her running well ahead of him among Black, Latino, and women voters, particularly the younger people in those cohorts. She is charismatic in a way that the senator isn’t. Perhaps Mamdani could not win a national Democratic primary either, but I wonder if his 2025 run, not Sanders 2020, is the best analogy for Ocasio-Cortez 2028.

Fourth, this could be Ocasio-Cortez’s time. Her combination of youth, economic populism, and social progressivism is a perfect contrast to Trump. But by 2032 or 2040, perhaps the country is in a different place or another Democrat has eclipsed her. It was smart for Barack Obama to run for president in 2008, even though that seemed early.

Let’s say Ocasio-Cortez runs but doesn’t win the nomination. That might be bad for her personally. But for progressives like me, that still might be a good outcome. Strong challengers from the left forced Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020 to adopt more progressive stands. I suspect Ocasio-Cortez would have the same effect on Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, and other likely 2028 candidates who aren’t as progressive as she. In Munich, Ocasio-Cortez described what has happened in Gaza as a genocide, praised the idea of wealth taxes and condemned corporate monopolies.  Those positions are correct. They are shared by many Democratic voters. But not by most of the party’s other 2028 hopefuls.